


No More Promises

by AgentLin



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Guns, I wouldn't say mafia but something like that, I'll update tags as the story progressive, Mafia NCT, Multi, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, dont really have any canon or exclusive pairings here, dreamies grew up on the streets, eventually all of NCT will be involved, most members also have powers so gonna play with that too, poly nct, the dreamies dont have pleasant backstories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2020-06-28 15:18:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19814992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentLin/pseuds/AgentLin
Summary: Donghyuck had spent all his life on the streets, over the years making a family out of other random strays he came across. He did his best to look after them, working whatever job he could, stealing when necessary, that is until Mark came into his life. The boy was like a gift, being able to provide and look after all of them. It was wonderful, at first anyway. Things quickly got complicated as Mark got involved in all kinds of dangerous things in order to keep a promise, one of many promises. This eventually tore them apart, Hyuck's little family leaving Mark in the wind after another broken promise. They did the best they could on their own, that is until Mark finds his way back into their life. He made another promise, to someone who would absolutely make sure he kept it. Especially considering Mark promised to give them his family.





	1. Chapter 1

“Mark, this is stupid!” Hyuck hissed. “You don’t know who you’re stealing from.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve watched that little shop for weeks now, I got this. If we get the money we’re set.”

“For how long? There are seven of us to feed.”

“I know, it’s why I chose this place.”

“What if you get caught?”

“I won’t.”

“What if you get killed?”

“That won’t happen either.”

“Please don’t do this, we’re leaving anyway.”

“And I’m going to make sure we can afford better wherever we go. I’ll be back before sunrise.” 

Mark gave the other a kiss, grabbing his duffel bag and mask. The two had been having a rather hushed argument in the old run down part of the house they called the living room, the others sleeping in the room next door. 

“I’m not waiting for you, so if you fuck up don’t bother coming back.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll find you, promise.”

The door shut and Donghyuck stayed in the dark. He felt uneasy, but kept his thoughts to himself. He didn’t move, waiting, watching as the sun slowly crept up behind him. He was shaken out of his daze when Jisung stumbled into the room still drowsy from sleep. He comforted the boy, wrapping him up in a blanket, going over to find something for him to eat, a bit of leftover granola was the best he could do.

The others started waking up too. Hyuck put on a smile, telling them to grab their things, promising breakfast on the road. Eventually they asked about Mark, and all he could do at first was stare at the door. He didn’t want to tell them the truth, but he refused to lie to them too. No one liked what they heard, but they couldn’t stay or complain. Hyuck looked at the place one more time, Mark always made empty promises.

He made the boys wait for him as he went into a pawn shop. He took off his bracelet, the only thing of value he had, and a very old gift from Mark, another broken promise. He got as much as he could for it, his own appearance clearly making him look desperate. The bit of money he got he used it to get the boys something tasty for breakfast, telling them to wait for him at the store.

He made his way to a parking lot, looking at the cars, trying to find something big enough, or at least comfortable enough for all of them. At least Mark had been good for something, teaching him how to hotwire a car among other things. When he pulled up to the other boys they didn’t question the ride and got in. They drove as far as the gas would take them, hitching another ride and doing it again. Donghyuck could at least smile over the boys enjoying the road trip. He didn’t know when he’d see their faces like that again.

♥♥♥♥♥

**Three Years Later**

“Did you take Chenle and Jisung to school?” 

Hyuck was cutting up some vegetables in the kitchen, preparing some soup for later. Jeno had walked in, looking around for something to eat and stealing a carrot to nibble on.

“Yeah, but they hate summer school you know.”

“I know, but they’re a quick study.”

“They’re not gonna want to go to school in the fall, they’d be-”

“I know, I know, I just… I want them to have a better chance than us.”

“So the maknaes go to summer school, and you make the rest of us take night classes, what about you?”

“Someone has to take care of you rascals.”

“I’m older than you, Renjun’s older than all of-”

“If the eldest among us is supposed to be responsible then maybe they wouldn’t have been a goddamn-”

“Haechan!”

Jeno grabbed Hyuck’s hand, stopping the knife from nearly coming down on his own fingers. Hyuck was panting, Jeno taking the knife from him and setting it down. He pulled him in for a hug, at least glad there was a hint of a smile on his face. Donghyuck was the one who had brought them all together, looked after them, he was their sunshine, and so the youngest had started calling him Haechan, something the others picked up quickly. It was similar to calling him mom for them. The name could always bring a smile to his face regardless of the situation.

“I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

“You didn’t, my mind went there.” Hyuck pulled back. “I’m fine, you need to get going, you have to get to work. I don’t want you to be late.”

“I can stay if you-”

“No, no please, you need that job. Go. I’ll be okay.”

“I’ll ask about that promotion today.”

“Good luck.”

Jeno lingered for a moment before he was ushered out of the house. Hyuck took a few breaths then picked up the knife, continuing where he left off. He had a lot to do in the house and didn’t have the time to take a break, not anytime soon that is.

♥♥♥♥♥

When they first got to the neighborhood he managed to strike a deal, some favors to live in the old place and plenty of time to pay the cheap rent. He didn’t tell the others about it until Ren caught him sneaking into the house late at night with a busted lip and plenty of bruises.

No one was happy to learn about his favors, but the boy had no intention of stopping, he was going to make sure they had a roof over their heads and food on the table. Ren and the others had gone out to get jobs after that, despite Hyuck’s insistence that they go back to summer school, they settled with night classes and working in the day. The maknaes, despite their desire to help too were to stay in school, being assured that in time they could do more to help.

The house was still pretty run down, but better than what they had before. Decent furniture, two beds, and a pretty good working kitchen. Hyuck was always tending to the house, cooking and cleaning, sleeping when he had the chance, well more like napping. He would never admit to how tired he was, he’d been raising those boys for years now. Every time he saw their sad faces all he could do was remember when he first met them.

He had run into an alley after stealing a sack of apples from a vendor, the police hot on his trail, he jumped into a dumpster to hide. Hours probably passed before he decided to get out. He was in the clear, then he noticed the two boys curled up next to the dumpster. When their eyes met they hid themselves. He stared down at the sack he had and handed it to the boys. Their eyes lit up and they thanked him graciously.

When he started walking away he didn’t care about his own hunger, just happy that he could help those two. That is until he heard the crunch of an apple so close to him. He turned around to see the two boys on his tail, following him. They also turned around when he did, as if he had been looking at something behind them. It was obvious what they were doing, and he wasn’t going to turn them away.

He got their names and took them with him, hand in hand. Despite the terrible situation they were all in, he liked having them around, he was no longer plagued with thoughts of taking his own life. He had a reason to stay alive, someone to stay alive for. He had been scavenging in dumpsters when he found a half dead Jeno in one. It looked like a lost cause, but he didn’t want the boy going in such pain. Somehow he dragged him home, and cleaned him up as best he could. 

The little ones were quick to grow fond of him. He had never yelled at them, that is until Chenle magically brought home some medicine for Jeno. There was no doubt how he got it, the boy was sorry, but Hyuck couldn’t stay mad. He made the two promise not to steal ever again. Jeno got better through all their effort and stuck around, a new member of their little family. He was the one who brought Jaemin and Renjun in a while later. Apparently he was somewhat looking after them too, Hyuck welcomed them with open arms.

He did his best to care for them, jumping around from jobs to try to do the right thing and stop stealing, but their situation always called for it. They had all been gloomy for a while and he was determined to turn it around. He stole some sweets, hoping to cheer them up with a treat, but he was having trouble losing the cops, that is until he was helped by another boy who was just as messy as him. He looked into Mark’s eyes as the red and blue lights passed. He thanked the boy but that wasn’t the last he saw him.

Days later Mark showed up at his place with food for all of them, casually slipping Hyuck some cash too, a lot more than he made on his own. Mark came by regularly after that, and eventually he stayed. He provided well, honestly giving Hyuck a break, and the others really liked him, but they didn’t know him the way Hyuck did.

“I want you to have this.”

Mark revealed a gold bracelet to Hyuck, it shined nicely against the moonlight. The two had been laying together, it wasn’t a surprise they had gotten close. When Hyuck saw the color he sat up and took it.

“Is this real?”

“Yup.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I found it.”

“Yeah right.” Hyuck laughed. “Why are you giving it to me anyway? Do you know how much we could get for it?”

“It’s a promise.”

“A promise? For what?”

“That I’m going to take care of you, all of you, so you can wear that without worrying about how much it’s worth.”

“Mark… this could get us medicine and-”

“I know, I’ll get that too, but I want you to keep it, please. Trust me. One day you won’t have to worry about the roof over our heads or the food on the table, it’ll always be there and more.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’m going to keep it, I swear on my life.”

“Why did I ever fall for you?”

“I don’t know, but I can always remind you.”

Mark kissed Hyuck’s neck, building up to his lips. He then took the bracelet and put it on the younger boys wrist. Hyuck held up his hand to see the moonlight shine on it.

“I hope I get a big ring.”

“If that’s what you want.”

The honeymoon is always so sweet, but considering how well Mark provided for them, he turned a blind eye to his shenanigans. That is until they followed him home. They were eating dinner when someone busted into their place, taking whatever was of value. Hyuck thought it was a simple robbery, that is until Mark started yelling at the intruders, something about getting their money.

There wasn’t much to take but they took somethings, and when they were gone Hyuck didn’t hesitate to question Mark about it. He tried to give him the bracelet, to let him use it to pay back whatever debt he owed and stop putting them all in danger. He refused to take the bracelet and said he had it handled, things quickly went downhill from there.

Mark would be gone for days at a time, didn’t explain why, but always put money on the table to silence the questions. No one asked, except Hyuck, especially when Mark came home covered in blood one night. Over and over he told him not to worry but that did nothing to help, and eventually, it wasn’t just his life on the line. Despite protest Hyuck knew they needed to leave, before whatever debt Mark had racked up was paid in blood, their blood.

When Mark didn’t show that last night, a part of Hyuck was glad, but another part was also disappointed. He should have known better, the boy was trouble the minute they met, and lately all he had been doing was chasing the promises he made. It hurt but he moved on, focusing on taking care of his boys, swearing not to rely on anyone ever again. He did well to keep that promise to himself.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Can we have this?”

Chenle and Jisung had gone out grocery shopping with him. They were cruising through the candy isle when they came back with some sweets. Chenle begging Hyuck to buy it for them.

“Please, pretty please!”

They had big pleading eyes, making Hyuck laugh. He was pretending to think it over when he noticed someone in the store. They were out of place, the suit they wore was clearly expensive, not to mention they were wearing shades indoors. He swore under his breath, but hid his concern behind a smile for the others.

“Sure, come on let’s go.”

“But don’t we still need-” Jisung was cut off.

“We’ll be good, come on.”

Hyuck paid for what they had gotten and headed out. His eyes immediately darted to the other man in a suit across the street. He always said Mark would get them killed, he had hoped that without him they would be safe, he was wrong. When he felt they were out of sight he turned to the boys with a serious look.

“I need you two to go find the others and tell them not to come home tonight, and stay with them okay.”

“What? Haechan…” Jisung’s voice was shaking. “What’s going on?”

“Sh, it’s okay, everything is going to be okay.”

“We can’t leave you.” Chenle added. “You have to-”

“Find the others, go to our safe place for the night, I’ll find you when I can.”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me.” He gave Chenle the money he had on him and the candy he had just bought them. “Now go okay.”

He kissed both their heads and had them go in the opposite direction as him. When he was back on the streets he noticed the suits following him. He made his way home, rushing to the kitchen. As he reached for a knife he noticed the gold bracelet on the countertop.

“I told you to keep that.”

Hyuck recognized the voice, anger boiling up in him. He grabbed the knife and threw it, quick to grab another after to stay armed. When he finally looked, Mark was holding the knife, blood dripping down, having caught it in midair.

“I promised I would find you.”

“Get the fuck out of my house!”

“Haechan-”

“No! You don’t get to call me that!”

He finally took the moment to notice how Mark was dressed, a suit that he certainly couldn’t afford, and he was much cleaner and healthier. Then there was the fact that he caught the knife like it was no big deal, he was different, very different than the last time they saw each other.

“Let me explain.”

“I don’t want one, you left, end of story, so just do it again.”

“I was going to come back, if you had just-”

“What? Waited? You promised to come back before sunrise! Guess what, the sun came up but you didn’t come back. I’ve had enough of your fucken promises!”

“I know you’re upset, just let me explain.” Mark looked around the place. “Where are the others?”

“None of your business. They’re better off without you. We’ve all been better off without you.”

“Please.” Mark took a step towards Hyuck. “Let’s talk.”

“Get out! Get out or I swear I’ll fucken kill you.”

“Will you?”

“I should have done it a long time ago. I never should have let you into my life, never should have let you into theirs!”

“You don’t mean that.”

Hyuck lowered the knife with a shaky hand, Mark slowly approaching and taking it from him. He pulled the boy into his embrace, hugging him. Hyuck sniffled, refusing to cry and let himself be comforted by this stranger. He had to play his hand with a clear head.

“I’m sorry baby…”

“I know you are.” Hyuck mumbled.

“There’s so much I gotta tell you.”

“Tomorrow. Come by tomorrow, so I can clean up, and better prepare the boys for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah of course, it’ll be a big surprise.”

“Okay, cause I have a surprise for you too. My boss-”

“Sh, save it.”

Mark walked over and grabbed the bracelet putting it on Hyuck’s wrist, taking his hand and kissing it. He put down a phone and some cash, a lot more than he had ever left before.

“Call me if something comes up before.”

“I will.”

Hyuck turned away when Mark leaned in for a kiss, but kept the smile. Once he was gone he ripped the bracelet off. He waited until he heard a car drive away and checked to make sure he was alone. He then started packing, knowing well enough what the boys would miss and what they could live without. He went out to the back, when they first arrived he had stolen a car, kept it hidden for emergencies like this one.

He put the bags in the trunk and put on a hoodie, counting how much money he had on him. He headed over to the predetermined rondevu point they had agreed upon in case the house wasn’t safe. When he pulled up he was glad to see the others were all gathered, they didn’t ask questions as they got in the car. He knew they were upset, having to leave the place they had called home, but they trusted Hyuck was doing what was best for them.

♥♥♥♥♥

The drive was mostly quiet, the radio turned on to fill the silence. The little ones had eventually fallen asleep. They had money to stop for gas, which they did, and filled up. The plan was to see how far they’d go, and that would end up as their new home. After a refill they ended up on a quiet, empty road. It was sometime late at night. The others were all asleep, Hyuck on his own in the drivers seat.

A car suddenly came into the road, seeming from out of nowhere. He didn’t think too much about it, then another car joined as well. They both got ahead of him and he thought nothing of it, that is until they swerved inward and blocked the road. Hyuck slammed on the breaks, he checked to make sure everyone was okay, they were but annoyed over the rough wake up call. Through the back window Hyuck could see three other, bigger, cars approaching.

“Haechan… what’s going on?” Jaemin asked. “Are we there…”

“Um, no, not yet. I need you all to stay quiet and calm okay.”

“Huh?” Ren looked back. “Uh…”

Hyuck saw people exiting the cars behind them and approaching them, he swallowed nervously. He counted about a dozen, and they surrounded the car, keeping a few feet away. His attention then turned to the road around him, there was nowhere to go.

“Just stay calm boys.”

He looked ahead of him, there were four people standing by the cars in front of him, at least he didn’t see any heavy weaponry on them so that brought him some relief. He was startled when there was a tap on his window. The man smiled, and gestured for Hyuck to lower the window. He was nervous but did as he was asked.

“Good evening, or good night, gentlemen and… kids. My name’s Johnny, pleasure to meet you.”

“Look… we don’t have… anything of value. We’re just trying to get… to get to-”

“Wherever the road takes you, right? I know the feeling. See the thing is, I’m a friend of Mark’s and he made us a promise.”

“He’s not very good at keeping them, trust me, I know. Look, whatever it is you want, we can’t give it to you, we have nothing to give, and we have nothing to do with Mark anymore.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong. You see, the thing Mark promised us, well, he promised us you.”

“What-”

Hyuck didn’t notice the gun until it was too late, getting shot with a tranquilizing dart. He heard the gun go off a few more times, knowing the rest of the boys in the car were hit too. Whatever strength he had left he used to look at the others, they were scared just as he was, the only thing scaring Hyuck the most was the thought of waking up without them. He tried to reach over and comfort the little ones but his world faded to black before he could do so.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Tie them up, gently, and get them in the SUV. Take whatever’s in the trunk and get rid of the car.” 

Johnny barked out orders as he walked back to his vehicle, handing someone the tranq gun. The door was opened for him and he got in the car. He watched as the bodies were pulled from the car and carried over to the other vehicles. When that was done and they were on the road he pulled out his phone, making a call. 

“I got them, so tell the boss he doesn’t need to worry. As for Mark, don’t tell him shit. I wanna see what excuse he comes up with, and how he’ll beg for mercy.”


	2. Chapter 2

Mark was raised in the streets, quick to learn what needed to be done in order to survive. He did well for himself, working a job here and there, enough to keep him going until the next one was offered. He was a lone wolf, figured the life he had was rather decent, and he’d keep living it until it killed him, that is until he met someone.

He was walking through an alley when he suddenly heard sirens. He had done nothing, but that didn’t stop his instinct to hide. When he peeked out of his hiding place he saw another boy run into the alley, the fear on his face making it clear the sirens were after him. There was no reason to help but Mark did so anyway, grabbing the other and pulling him into his hiding space.

They stared at each other in silence as the lights passed and the sirens faded away. Mark had never seen someone so beautiful, it made him wonder what the boy looked like if he cleaned up. Before he could ask for a name the other thanked him and ran off. Mark wasn’t done and quietly chased after him. He found the place the other called home, quick to realize there were at least five other voices in there, and the more he heard, the more apparent it became that the boy he just saved was taking care of others. If he wanted to introduce himself, he needed a grand gesture to win his favor.

Mark returned the next night with some food, the boy he met and the others grateful. It was a pretty grand introduction, and that’s how it started. He got to know them, Donghyuck, and all his wards. He’d come and go, but eventually stuck around at their request. He wanted to make them happy, so he started taking jobs that would pay better, making deals and promises so he could provide. He never thought too much of what he was doing, he just wanted to take care of his family.

He did well to keep his two lives apart, but eventually they collided. It was clear what he did upset Hyuck, but he knew he had to do it. The reality of it all didn’t hit until threats were aimed at his family. That’s when he told Hyuck that they needed to leave, something they both agreed on. Of course he wanted to make sure that when they started over, they’d be better off.

There was a small tea shop in town, had some pretty rich customers, so he knew it would be a good place to hit before leaving. He scoped out the place for nearly a month, learning the routine of the owner and workers, getting a layout of the place. It would be an easy in and out one man job, and then he’d disappear with his family. He had everything planned out, but of course, there was always a chance things would go wrong. Even now he wasn’t sure if the universe fucked him or gave him a chance that night.

He promised Hyuck that he’d be back before sunrise and he was determined to keep it, someone clearly had other plans. When the time was right he put his mask on and went into the shop, gun in hand. He never told his family he had one, it was his secret weapon and a tool for work only. The cashier complied with his demands, everyone else in the shop keeping low. When the door opened, the bell going off, he looked back making the same threat, except the person who walked in wasn’t taking him seriously.

“Wow, a robbery, never seen one before.”

“Get on the ground!”

“Listen kid.” The man put his hands up. “This is my favorite tea shop, and I would appreciate it if you put the money back.”

“I said get on the ground!”

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. So, I’ll ask you again to lower your weapon, and give back all you’ve stolen, before things get bad.”

“I’m the one calling the shots here!”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The man smirked when the door opened again, three others walking in. When they saw the scene happening they were quick to draw their weapons.

“Are you alright, Doyoung?”

“Fine, Jaehyun, just fine. Now, kid, last chance to put the money down. I suggest you take it.”

Mark looked at the others, it was three against one, there was no way he could take them all out before he’d be gunned down. He was prepared in case something like that happened, he just wish it wouldn’t have.

“Fuck.”

Mark shot at the lights above then bolted for the back exit. The people screamed, the lights flickering a bit before returning to normal.

♥♥♥♥♥

“After him.” Doyoung ordered.

One of the guards went through the back, another going out and rounding to the back. Doyoung made sure everyone was okay, speaking to the owner, promising to make things right and pay for the damages. Jaehyun wrote a check, Doyoung signed it and handed it over then walked out.

“Shall I drive?” Jaehyun asked.

“No, I want to.”

The two called the guards, getting their location and confirming that they had eyes on the thief. They drove, quick to catch up, getting constant updates over which direction their runner was taking. Once Doyoung had a plan he grinned.

♥♥♥♥♥

This was not how the robbery was supposed to go. When he got out the back he thought he was home free, but he soon realized he was being chased. He had to lose those tails before he could make his way home, shouldn’t be too hard, he knew the streets like the back of his hand. Apparently he wasn’t the only one. As he came around a corner he was hit by a car.

He laid on the hood of the car, his head bleeding onto the cracks off the windshield. He groaned, trying to move, but everything ached. Hands suddenly grabbed him and he was pulled off the car, forced onto his knees, his bag taken and his masked removed. He flinched from the sting of the mask being taken off, his face cut up a bit.

“Well… I owe you five grand.” Jaehyun admitted. “I’ll text YangYang, tell him we need a new car sent to our location.”

“Told you I could get them on the hood of the car without killing them.”

“And that you did, very impressive.”

“Thank you, now let’s meet our thief.”

The two stepped out of the car, Doyoung inspecting the car then focused on the boy on his knees. He was a lot younger than he expected. Jaehyun grabbed the bag, examining it’s contents then tossed it to one of the guards.

“Return this to the tea shop, now.” Jaehyun looked at the other. “Wash the car and get it to the shop.”

“Come on man…” Mark whined. “Your suit is probably worth more than what was in the bag.”

“Oh it is.” Doyoung commented, kneeling down to be at eye level with the other. “So, going by the messy hair and the stench of needing a shower, you live on the streets.”

“What’s it to you?”

“It makes your situation all the more interesting. Tell me, how long have you been planning that robbery?”

“Ten minutes.”

Doyoung slapped the boy, and Jaehyun instinctively drew his gun, in case the thief got aggressive. The boy groaned, spitting out some blood, then laughing.

“You knew where to shoot to disrupt the lights.” Doyoung pointed out. “And knew your way to the back entrance. So, I’ll ask again, how long were you planning that robbery?”

“Almost a month.”

“Impressive. Sorry it didn’t work out.”

“Who’s fault is that?”

“Yours, I guess you couldn’t run fast enough. Now, you got a name.”

“Yeah.”

“Which is?”

“Go fuck yourself!” Mark spit blood on the others face. “That’s my name.”

Doyoung punched the thief, watching them fall back before standing, using his handkerchief to clean off the blood. He glanced back and noticed Jaehyun had his gun out.

“You guys clearly got money.” Mark coughed out, getting back on his knees. “So why bother chasing after me? Why’d you ruin that sweet ass ride?”

“I was bored.” Doyoung admitted. “Thought stopping a robber would be fun. It was.”

“I’m glad I could entertain you. Now that it’s over, and you stopped me, how about you let me go.”

“Let you go? You got places to be? Things to do?”

“In fact I do, so how about-”

“That’s too bad.” 

Mark then realized the other, Jaehyun, held a gun, he started shaking his head, knowing what was coming next. The man before him, Doyoung, smiled and walked away. He got up, trying to step towards the other but his legs gave out quickly from the ache. He didn’t hesitate to start crawling and beg.

“No! Wait! Please! Don’t kill me! I have a family! Please!”

Jaehyun was about to shoot when Doyoung placed a hand on his shoulder. The two shared a look. Another car pulled into the alley, stopping where the old one had been. Doyoung stared at it for a moment and then looked back to see the boy getting on his knees, begging for mercy. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

“Take him.”

“Huh?”

Jae walked over and pistol whipped the boy. Doyoung walked to the car, hitting the hood and gesturing to the boy on the ground. The guard in the passenger seat got out, Doyoung taking his place, and grabbed the boy. Jaehyun put his gun away, getting in the back. The trunk was opened and the thief was put in, being given a sedative to make sure he didn’t wake up. The car then drove off, the sunrise illuminating the sky.

♥♥♥♥♥

The car pulled into an underground private parking lot, stopping in front of the entrance. The guards at the door rushed over to open the door for Doyoung and Jaehyun, the other who had been in the car getting the boy out of the trunk. The entrance was then opened and they walked into a lobby, a front desk across from him, four elevators on either side of him. Of course the whole building was practically Doyoung’s home, their safe entrance underground, the person at the front desk greeted him. Doyoung was about to call an elevator when another voice caught his attention.

“You were out longer than expected, and YangYang tells me you busted the windshield of the car you left with.”

Doyoung scoffed when he heard Johnny’s voice. He turned around to see the boy putting down a magazine and standing up, apparently having been lounging around in the lobby waiting for him. Johnny noticed the random boy the guard held.

“What the fuck is that?”

“A project.”

“I don’t think you were approved for whatever this project is.”

“Which is why I’d like to call a meeting now, and make my proposal.” Doyoung smiled, then looked at the guard. “Take him up to the infirmary, tell Jungwoo and Hendery to patch him up, and to be careful, they don’t wanna damage their possible new plaything.”

“Oh, so that’s your project.”

“Something like that, shall we go?”

Johnny watched as the guard left with the stranger in hand, before looking back at Doyoung. The two stared at each other in silence for a while before Johnny smirked.

“I hope this works out, I’m kinda interested where it could go.” Johnny called an elevator. “Jaehyun, call Sicheng, tell him to gather all intel on our new guest. I’ll call Xiaojun, see when Taeyong is available and for how long. I suggest you figure out what you want to say Doyoung, or else we’ll have a body to dispose of.”

“I have a pretty solid idea, I’m sure everyone will like it.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Mark woke up when he was splashed with ice cold water. After he wiped away the water on his face he realized he was in a white interrogation room. He slowly got up, his shoes were gone, a bandage wrapped around his head, and he was wearing a white t-shirt and some shorts. 

“Take a seat.”

He finally realized the other bodies in the room. One was leaning against the wall by the door, another was sitting at the table in the center, gesturing to the empty seat across from him. 

“Please sit down.” The one by the door said. “It’s better that way.”

“Who are you?”

“We’ll do this standing then.” The man sitting grabbed his tablet, swiping it every few seconds. “Mark Lee, given up at birth, spent five years in an orphanage before being adopted, ran away from his new home the same night he arrived, been living on the streets since then, a few arrests for petty theft, been accused of some murders but nothing was proven. Anything else?”

By then Mark was sitting down. Wherever he was, he didn’t like it, his tough exterior fading, it would be of no use in that situation. His eyes wandered around the room, there was a camera in the corner, and two people with him he didn’t recognize.

“Um… no… you spit out my life’s story just now.”

“I know. What I want to know is why the fuck Doyoung brought you here.”

“Doyoung? The guy-”

“What’s so special about you?”

“I… I don’t know… how long have I been here? I have to go, I have-”

“A family, yes, since you ran from your adopted parents, this family of yours must be made up of a bunch of street rats too right?”

“I need to get back to them, now.”

“I see, and you’re under the impression you get to walk out of this alive. I suggest you forget about this family of yours and-”

“That’s enough Sicheng.”

The door opened and Doyoung walked in, he smiled at the person by the door, but it seemed a bit hostile. Sicheng scoffed and leaned back in his chair, focusing on his tablet and pulling himself out of the conversation. Doyoung sat down on the table, looking down at Mark.

“So, Mark, nice to meet you.”

“Doyoung, right?”

“Yes, glad you remembered. Now, I have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition?”

“Yup, I want to offer you a job, a good one. You’ll have a roof over your head, plenty to eat, clean clothes and more.”

Mark looked the guy over then at the others. They had money, that was slapping him in the face, so it didn’t make sense why they were interested in him, they could easily afford some kinda hitman. Then again, maybe this was his chance, but he couldn’t just accept it.

“What’s the catch?”

“I don’t have one, this is a job, a chance to better your life.”

“I have a family to look after, what happens to them if I agree to this?”

“This isn’t about them, it’s about you.”

“I have people who depend on me, so unless they get to join me in this better life, the answer is no.”

Doyoung scoffed. “I want you, someone with experience, who can be better.”

“So you need people right? Loyal people? I can give you that, six to be exact, seven including me.”

“Your family? That’s who you’re talking about right?”

“Yes. If what you’re offering me goes for them too, and we stay together, I promise, I can get them to work for you too.”

“I see. Then let’s start with introductions.”

“Is that a yes?”

“I want to meet your family first.”

The other opened the door and Doyoung walked out. Mark stayed put, not sure what to do, until Sicheng gestured for him to follow the other out. He got up and walked out, although he didn’t see much before a needle pricked his neck and he passed out.

♥♥♥♥♥

When Mark woke up he was in the backseat of a car. Doyoung was sitting next to him, the two in the front he didn’t recognize. He looked out the window, seeing familiar streets around him. He was asked for directions, and he led them to the place where he lived. When the car stopped he quickly ran out, going home.

“Donghyuck!”

Once inside he looked around excitedly, although he saw the place was empty. He didn’t give up easily though, looking around, calling for the others. He started wondering exactly how long he had been gone.

“Jaemin… Renjun… Chenle… Jeno… Jisung…”

“Nobody home.” Doyoung said, looking around the place. “Have you been lying-”

“No! No… we were planning on leaving… it’s why I robbed the tea shop, so we could have money, have a better fresh start. I promised to be back before sunrise… and they said they wouldn’t wait up if I was late… guess they really meant it.”

“Shame… Yukhei dis-”

“Wait!” The driver had pulled out a gun. “You have the resources don’t you? You can find them, and I can talk to them! Please… the little ones… Chenle and Jisung, they’re like fourteen, fifteen, they’re young, they can easily become what you need, please.”

Doyoung was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Two years.”

“What?”

“You work for us for two years, and if you prove yourself by then, we’ll look for your family.”

“And if I don’t?”

“If you don’t do well for those two years we’ll just let you go and you can do whatever you want. Of course if you don’t want to do that then this is where we part ways.”

“Can I-”

“You have five minutes to decide. I’ll wait by the car.”

Mark was left alone, he looked around the place. They never had much to begin with so not much was gone. He felt like shit for letting them down, and he couldn’t help but wonder where they had gone. He looked out the window, Doyoung on the phone. If he said no, he was sure that Yukhei guy would come up and shoot him. 

He could always use the five minutes to run, but where would he go, he didn’t have any idea where the others had gone. If he really wanted to see them again his best bet was Doyoung and his people. He looked around the place again, if he worked hard and proved himself he was guaranteed to see them all again, he could give them all a better life, the life he promised. Otherwise he was dead. Mark took a deep breath and headed down.

“At a boy, glad to have you on board.”

Before Mark could respond he was knocked out again. This time a light was shining in his face when he woke up. Two others were standing above him, one helped him up and then punched him. He then realized he was in some kind of boxing ring, one of the guys he recognized from the tea shop, Jaehyun, the other was a mystery. He complained, questioning what was going on, but all he was told was that it was training. That’s how it all started.

♥♥♥♥♥

Over the next few months a lot changed in Mark’s life, and fast. For the most part he was beaten to a bloody pulp on a daily basis, his knowledge of the streets not giving him any advantages. He was surprised they never actually killed him. It wasn’t until he could hold his own against at least five of them that they moved on.

Learning to handle all kinds of weapons, from knives to guns and everything in between. Slowly, he met the others, the trusted ones in whatever business he was involved in, there was quite a few, although he wasn’t sure who was actually in charge. He changed quite a bit too, maybe for the better, or maybe for the worse. It was hell there, but the one thing that kept him going through all the pain was the hope of seeing his family, of seeing Donghyuck, again.

After a year he started looking the part, expensive suits, something he would have never been able to afford in his old life. That’s when he started getting a proper look into what was expected of him. There was always the rumor that he had blood on his hands, it wasn’t a rumor anymore. He’d be lying if he didn’t feel sick after the first few kills, and it was obvious. He was given the friendly advice that the blood wasn’t gonna go away, so he should stop giving a fuck.

He had always been cold on the streets, only ever kind to his family, but with this group he got much colder than he thought possible. There were times where he thought it best to leave his family out of it, but he was selfish and he wanted to see them again. Although as he started to learn more about the operation, finally getting a name for the group too, NCT, he really started to see what he got mixed up with. It became clear then, there was no getting out, if he didn’t meet expectations, he was a goner. He was never told what the expectations they had for him were, with everything going on he didn’t even realize when two years had passed.

It just came up randomly, Sicheng asking him for the names of his family members along with any details one day. Mark was ecstatic, it seemed he had passed and he would be seeing his family again. He thought maybe it would be quick, he checked in with Sicheng everyday for a month to see if he had a lead, but the answer was always no. He needed to be patient, he distracted himself with work, and one day that led to a bit of heart break.

He had gone out with Yuta to run an errand, they ended up in a pawn shop near his old place. Mark was rather bored, he was just a follower after all, mainly dressed as their bodyguards. While looking around his eyes landed on a golden bracelet on display, he grabbed it and interrupted Yuta, asking about it. As he feared the owner had gotten it about two years ago from a kid who matched Hyuck’s description, without much question Yuta paid for it and they left.

“You didn’t-” Mark began.

“Why is it important?”

“I… it was a promise…”

“What kinda promise?”

“That… that one day I’d make it so he could wear it without worrying about the value…”

“That’s sweet, I’m sure you can give it back some day, now let’s go.”

Mark kept it with him, promising he’d give it back, this time actually able to keep his word. NCT was happy with him, he had definitely grown with them and became something new. It wasn’t until a year after the search had started the Sicheng finally had a location. He was told that the reason it had been so difficult was because they were very off the radar, always had been, he didn’t question that reasoning. The others were informed as well, planning to just grab them, Mark begged for a chance to talk to them first.

“I told you I would talk to them! Convince them!”

“It was quite difficult to find them.” Sicheng reminded. “If they get away-”

“We had a deal!”

“It wasn’t really a deal.”

The man at the end of the table spoke up. The group actually gathered pretty often, although this was the first time Mark had been allowed into one of their meetings. He really had no idea what they talked about, but the fact that they were so casual about kidnapping, it was a bit unsettling. Even now he wasn’t sure who was ultimately in charge, if he ever asked they said it was them. The one who had spoken up he rarely saw though, Taeyong, so hearing him speak definitely made him nervous.

“You made us a promise, Mark. In exchange for a chance at a better life you promised us numbers, six people to be exact, your family. We’ve found them, just like you asked, so we’ll take-”

“Just let me talk to them first!” Mark blurted out, not caring if he’d get in trouble for interrupting. “Let me convince them to come on their own… and if they don’t… you can take them.”

“Fine. You get one chance.”

“Thank you…”

♥♥♥♥♥

Other people had scouted the area, found where Hyuck and the others were living. When they were all out he went into the house, wanting to see where they lived. It wasn’t bad, better than what they had before. He took off the gold bracelet, he had kept it on since he found it, promising to return it. He put it down on the countertop, then heard footsteps approaching, so he hid. He saw Hyuck come in and knew this was his moment.

“I told you to keep that.”

The knife caught him by surprise, he didn’t know the other one hated him that much, but his improved reflexes allowed him to catch it. The cut stung but he moved passed the pain, seeing that Hyuck was holding up another knife, he’d be lying if he said the rage in the others eyes didn’t upset him. This definitely wasn’t how he saw their reunion going, but then again it had been three years, what was he expecting. It was foolish to think Hyuck would just run into his arms and be so happy to see him.

He wanted to explain, talk about everything that had happened the last few years but Hyuck didn’t wanna hear it. Mark tried to get close but the other just made threats, he always did back then but for once Mark believed him. He knew the others were busy elsewhere but he still asked, he wanted to see them. Hyuck told him they were all better off without him and that stung more than the knife wound. As much as he knew he deserved everything that was happening he had another promise to keep.

He managed to get the knife from the other and pull him into a hug. It felt so nice, he didn’t want to let go, but Hyuck insisted on him coming over the next day, make a big surprise out of his arrival to the other. He like that, agreeing to it, leaving money and a phone so he’d be okay. He even got the chance to give Hyuck back the bracelet. He was glad that they were fixing things, although trying for a kiss was obviously not going to work out. When he left, he was happy, thinking about presents to get them, making tomorrow similar to how they first met.

By then he knew well that his life belonged to NCT, maybe one day he’d be as respected as the others, but for now he was still below them. Although he was in a position of power, bodyguards following him, and he definitely had money to spend. He looked forward to being able to take care of his family. The place he lived, a huge building in the city, a whole dorm was already set up for them, he knew they’d love it. If only things had been that easy.

It was disappointing that he didn’t get a call, but maybe it had been for the best. Although when he went over the next day he was heartbroken, and afraid. The house was empty again, the money he left untouched on the counter, next to the phone and bracelet. He failed, and he knew what was going to happen when they were found again. What concerned him most was that he had to go home and explain his failure, Johnny was gonna get a kick out of it.

♥♥♥♥♥

When he returned Doyoung was waiting for him. He didn’t need to say anything and Mark knew to follow. They ended up in Johnny’s office, Ten, Sicheng, and Jungwoo also present, no one seemed happy. The only comfort he had was apologizing in front of five of them, well, really three. He learned early that his dignity and pride didn’t mean anything, so he didn’t hesitate to get on his knees.

“I’m sorry… I thought-”

“You thought.” Johnny cut in. “That’s funny, cause you had one job.”

“I messed up, I know that.”

“After you begged for that chance too.”

“Johnny-”

“Don’t _Johnny_ me, you fucked up.”

“I know, I know… I’m sorry… just… just please…” 

“Please? What exactly do you think you can beg for now?”

“Just find them… and I’ll bring them to you… no more talking.”

“Really? You think I’m gonna let you anywhere near your so called family again? After this shit.”

“Plea-”

Mark’s ears were suddenly ringing and he screamed, covering his ears but it did nothing to help. He fell over, curling up, the pain only getting worse, he thought he was going crazy. Johnny was clearly amused, the others not so much. 

“Cut it out, Johnny.” Ten said. “Before you kill him.”

Johnny glared at the other. Mark could finally breathe, his hearing slowly returning to normal. He took a moment before getting back on his knees, knowing he was in no position to stand up and that the conversation was not over.

“Happy?” Johnny asked. “Don’t do that again.”

“I can do whatever I want.” Ten said. “We both know who’s ultimately in charge here.”

“Do I have to fucken gag you?”

“I would love to see you try.”

“Can you save that for the bedroom?” Doyoung said. “Or do you just wanna fuck on the desk?”

“You’d get off on that.” Johnny teased. “So how about you say something since that boy is your pet project.”

“I made my case a long time ago, and he’s done well. He shows promise.”

“I know, I know, but that other boy wasn’t kidding. He’s not good at keeping his promises.” 

“Other…” Mark mumbled. “You mean-”

“Sicheng, show him.”

Sichen pulled up some footage on the tablet he held then threw it at the floor in front of Mark. He grabbed the tablet, not sure what he was seeing but once he understood he was staring at it in disbelief.

“Is this real?”

“Yes, I figured you’d fuck up so I had Sicheng keep an eye on your little family. Caught them on some back road running away from you, but I managed to intercept them.” Johnny said. “They seem like good people.”

The tablet was showing Mark a live camera feed of the others. They were in the infirmary passed out, hooked to an IV, resting. The feed kept switching so he could see all of them.

“What are you doing to them?”

“They’re not at full health.” Jungwoo stated. “Living in poverty, it’s no surprise they’re malnourished and growth has been stunted for the younger ones. We’re simply getting them to peak performance.”

“Can I see them?

“No.” Doyoung said. “You’ll have to earn that after all your other failures.”

“You can’t do that!” The lights started flickering in the room, the tablet fritzing and smoking. “They’re my family!”

“I don’t think they like that title anymore.”

“Calm down, Mark.” Ten said. “You’ll get to see them if you behave.”

Mark dropped the tablet, it was burning in his hands, the lights returning to normal. Given everything that happened Johnny asked Jungwoo to take Mark and make sure he didn’t cause himself any damage. When the two left he had Sicheng go prepare all the data he could get on their new guests. That just left three to talk.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Three years, and your little project is finally taking its next step.” Ten said, getting a drink. “Are you proud of yourself?”

“Should I not be?”

“Mark looks like he’s going to be more of a problem now than he’s ever been.”

“Well you can make sure he’s not.”

“You didn’t need to drag him off the streets if you wanted another mindless soldier.”

“This is about increasing our own numbers.” Johnny added. “Mark’s been good, you can’t deny that.”

“That’s cause he had a goal, something to keep him in line. Now his family is here.”

“And we get his family to like us.” Doyoung added. “Given their living conditions, their new home here is a dream come true. The younger ones will be ecstatic.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that their so called mother is very hostile towards Mark.”

“Then we just show them how happy they can be here.” Johnny said. “I’ll deal with their mommy, Haechan, he’s very cute. The rest of you can show the others a good time, he won’t be able to say no if he sees how happy his kids are. And no cheating Ten, this needs to be genuine.”

“No shit.”

“Good, we have a meeting in an hour.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Shall we start then.”

Despite NCT being a big company, only fourteen people, maybe fifteen, Mark was still working his way up, ran things. Taeyong was at the head of the table for good reason, he travelled a lot with Xiaojun as his secretary in a way. He was pretty much the one who made sure the lights stayed on and that the money kept flowing. In his common absence he leaves three others in charge, Johnny, Doyoung, and Ten. Those three clashed ideals a lot, but they knew their responsibilities well.

The one ultimately in charge of technology was Kun, although Sicheng was their eyes and ears everywhere. Jungwoo held the title of doctor, along with Hendery except he focused more on the science things and not so much the medical. Their best drivers were Yukhei and YangYang, getting away from anyone was never an issue with them behind the wheel. Everyone else, including those, had tendencies to wreck cars every now and then.

Taeil was the most experienced with cars, so he knew how to fix anything. He was also one of two in charge of weaponry. The other was Jaehyun, he could also be seen as the muscle of the group along with Yuta. Even if certain members had an area of specialty they did a lot more. Mark on the other hand was just a high ranking bodyguard who could possibly get a seat at the table one day, that was Doyoung’s goal after all.

With Taeyong present the meeting could go on as planned. The table provided holographic images so they didn’t need to use any sort of primitive technology. Of course it was Sicheng who was going to be talking since he was always the one doing very extensive background checks on whoever he was told to look into. It was usually fun for the boy, but he had to admit this time around it wasn’t fun.

“Let’s start with the young ones then.” Images of Jisung and Chenle appeared on the table, along with basic details about both of them, and live camera footage of them in the infirmary. “Park Jisung and Zhong Chenle, they’ve been friends since they were little kids, met at school. They were good students, no disciplinary issues, and very close, mostly kept to themselves. They were one of the many kids who went missing on a class field trip. After nearly two months the kids were found, having been kidnapped by the psycho bus driver, he was shot on sight.”

“Better have or else I’d need to excuse myself from this meeting.” Johnny said.

“We would have taken care of it if that man were still alive. Out of all the kids not all survived the incident. I looked through all reports and information on the incident and had Jaehyun conduct some interviews for me. It seems that Jisung and Chenle were the only two who actually managed to escape. They were in an unfamiliar place and where they were held was far from civilization and surrounded by wild life. They were never found, and at this point they’re presumed dead even though the investigation is still open. They were twelve when they disappeared.”

“Given their age and how long its been, I wonder if they remember what happened.” Ten said. “Poor boys wound up on the streets far from home with only each other.”

“And now they’re here. Safe and sound.” Taeyong added. “Who else do we have?”

“Lee Jeno.” The information on the table changed. “Lived with his family, only child, brilliant in school, high expectations, although mixed in with a rough crowd. Not surprising given his upbringing. Mother was an alcoholic disaster with no real concern over the fact that her child is missing, and the father died of an overdose two years ago. Mommy dearest claims her son ruined the family.”

“Looking at his academic standing it seems he was trying to get himself out of that house.” Doyoung commented. “How did he end up mixed up with gangsters? Got himself a little record.”

“From what I gathered parents owed the gang money and they threw Jeno in to pay their debts, among other things. He did good work too.”

“How did he end up on the streets far from home then?” Kun asked.

“The missing persons report says he snuck out of the house one night and never came home. One of the school teachers filed the report, parents couldn’t care less. He was fourteen when he went missing.”

“I guess he couldn’t stay there anymore, he wanted out.” Yuta said. “Smart kid.” 

“Then you’re gonna hate this story.” Sicheng changed the files on the table. “Na Jaemin. Another rather brilliant kid, but a victim of bullying. Nothing was ever proven so it seems he suffered alone. One day the boy went to school and never came home. For weeks there was no leads until local police broke up a human trafficking ring. It seems they were preying on the school kids, and it was confirmed that Jaemin was one of the victims, only fifteen at the time. I did some further digging, with our own resources, out of curiosity, seems that the school VP was pretty much selling the kids, rather anonymously, but there was no evidence pointing to him so he was never accused or convicted.”

“Is he still alive?” Yukhei asked.

“No.”

“Good.”

“The men who confessed were only middle men, any top players in the business were never discovered, by the local police anyway. All these guys did was abduct the kids, drug them, tie them up and shove them in boxes to be driven to some undisclosed location. There wasn’t much to follow from there so we have no idea how Jaemin ended up on the streets.”

“Even if we don’t know, to get out of that kinda shit, it’s impressive.” Taeil said.

“Agreed. Next we have Huang Renjun. Who is currently living with a foster family.”

Hendery scoffed. “No he’s not.”

“Exactly, a rather interesting case. Ren here was taken from his birth parents for neglect and put into the system at the age of thirteen. He stayed there for a year before being placed with a foster family. It’s a pretty crowded house, I guess he didn’t like it and ran away. The other kids did say Ren kept to himself and didn’t talk or socialize with anyone. The parents didn’t notice at first and when they did they didn’t report it, so they’ve been collecting checks for quite a few years now. They’ve been reported.”

“So… how did they all find each other?” Jaehyun asked. “Such an odd bunch.”

“We’d have to ask their self proclaimed caretaker, Lee Donghyuck.” The information changed again. “Their mom, or as they call him, Haechan. He’s a fun one, legally dead.”

“What!” Jungwoo exclaimed. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Haechan’s household wasn’t a kind one, multiple reports of abuse from a young age but the accusations never went anywhere. He disappeared from home when he was ten, the assumption is he ran away. No other record of him since then, he did well to hide and stay off the grid.”

“So this ten year old runaway basically raised those other six boys?” Xiaojun questioned. “Better question is how he found them at all.”

“Gonna have to ask him, although from what Mark said and how the boy reacted to his presence I don’t think he’ll want to talk to any of us.”

“I suggest we start with the younger ones first.” YangYang said. “They seem easier to talk to and respond to treats.”

“I want to talk to them.” Taeyong proclaimed. “As soon they wake up, both of them. They seem to be a pair. And speaking of, Jungwoo, Hendery, have you started running tests?”

“Yes we have.” Hendery said. “Phase one that is, but they’re still under.”

“And how’s that going?” Doyoung asked.

“Good. There’s been no negative reaction yet.” Jungwoo said. “Things might change once they wake up. Although I’m mostly concerned over Chenle and Jisung, they’re young and we’ve never tried this on someone their age. We’ll need to run a lot of tests once they’re conscious to see if it would be safe to proceed.”

“And Mark?”

“I honestly didn’t think he was going to develop anything especially since you had me start when he was half dead!”

“Aren’t the others in that state too?” Ten pointed out.

“They weren’t beaten half to death. Anyway, you’ve all seen the signs, there’s something and it’s about time we start testing it, before it gets out of hand.”

“Whenever you’ve got the time doc.”

“Good, other than that, the rest are recovering well.”

“I’ll deal with Haechan, he seems cute.” Johnny said. “The rest of you can have fun with the kids.”

“If anything, we should talk to all the kids first.” Kun added. “They’d be less likely to lie, and we can corroborate the story with Haechan. It would also provide an edge if we know things we probably shouldn’t.”

“We need their trust, not their fear.” Doyoung countered.

“Knowing how they ended up together let’s us show sympathy.” Taeil said. “We can’t be harsh with them.”

“When will they wake up?” Kun asked.

“Give their current rate of improvement, in a few hours actually.” Jungwoo said.

“Keep them under.” Taeyong ordered. “Wake the little ones up and put them in the interrogation room first. Sicheng, I want all information on them, anywhere and everywhere, scrubbed immediately, and any of those vial connections to them, I want them eliminated. Call me when the little ones are ready, and get the kids some burgers and shakes.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Chenle started to wake up cause of a delicious smell in the air. He got up, realizing he was wrapped up in a blanket, the same for Jisung next to him. He looked around the room, all the walls were white, one door and a glass panel. His eyes were mostly drawn to the table and the food on it. He started salivating seeing such a juicy burger with some curly fries and a shake, there were two, a meal for each of them.

“Jisung get up.” Chenle shook the other. “Get up.”

He moved when the younger one started waking up, sitting at the table. Jisung slowly woke up, looking around as well but his eyes were glued to the table. He got up and sat with Chenle, the two of them staring down at the food.

“Is… is this for us?” Jisung asked. “Is it safe?”

“I don’t know… it smells so good.”

“Where are the others? Where’s Haechan?”

“Sleeping.”

The door suddenly opened, startling them both. Three people walked into the room, one taking a seat across the table in front of them and the other ones leaning against the wall. The boys were quiet, both vaguely remembering what had happened to them, neither of the men before them were recognizable.

“You two must be hungry, so please, eat.”

“What if…” Chenle mumbled. “You poisoned it…”

“Poison? Why would I do that? You guys look like you’ve never eaten something like this before so I thought you might like it.”

Neither of them responded, staying quiet, staring down at the table. Taeyong was rather glad they didn’t blindly trust what he said. When he heard one of their stomachs growl he laughed a bit.

“You can have as much as you can stomach okay.” 

Taeyong smiled at them then grabbed a handful of fries from either bag. That’s when the boys looked up. He then proceeded to deeply bite each of the burgers and drink some of both shakes. He playfully offered some to the other two in the room, Ten refused but Xiaojun had a bit of the shake and some fries.

“It is really good.” Tae smiled. “And if you don’t trust the food we give you, you’re more than welcome to ask one of us to eat it first.”

The two waited a moment, shyly looking between the two who had just eaten some of the food. Jisung was the first to give in, mumbling a soft ‘thank you’ and grabbing the shake. His eyes lit up from the sweet taste, encouraging Chenle to try the food too. It wasn’t long before the two were happily enjoying their meal.

“I know you probably don’t like what happened.” Tae began. “The means we used to bring you here, but we were doing that to help you.”

“Help us?” Chenle questioned. “You shot us!”

“It was a tranquilizer. We’re in a very secret place and we were worried Haechan would get hurt if we tried to bring you in consciously.”

“Haechan? Where is he? What did you do!”

“Easy, easy, he’s fine. He’s resting, he’s very tired, all kinds of muscle aches, and very malnourished compared to the rest of you. He took very good care of you guys.” 

“Where are the others?”

“Someone else is talking to them, making sure they’re eating well and getting all their questions answered. Now, since you seem to feel better, do you guys have any questions?”

“Where are we?” Jisung asked.

Tae scoffed. “I’m afraid that’s a secret, but I can tell you we’re in this big building.”

“So is this like your secret hideout?”

“Yes, but it’s also home, and we want it to be your home too.”

“Wait you want us to live here?” Chenle said. “With you?”

“Yup, it’s why we went through so much trouble to find you.”

“You were looking? For us?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Cause of Mark.” Jisung said. “Right? This is his home now and he wants it to be ours too.”

“You’re very smart, I like that.” Tae complimented. “Mark took a job with us under the condition that he could bring you guys with him. I’m a family man, these two gentlemen here are pretty much my brothers, we grew up together, so I wasn’t gonna refuse him. He told us a lot about you, how he wanted a better life for you. Although I have to say, Haechan did a very good job of hiding you.”

“What… what do you do?” Chenle asked. “You dress really fancy…”

“I’ll let you in on a secret, not many people know this, not even Mark, but I’m the boss. I run this big company, you’ve probably heard of it, but I’m not gonna tell you just yet. My company works to help make the world a better place.”

“So… what does Mark do for you?”

“He’s a bodyguard, a very high ranking bodyguard of ours. He’s really good at his job, and he helped a lot in finding you.”

“If you’re some big company, why did you bring us here in secret?”

“Big company, we don’t need people finding out that we’re rescuing kids off the streets because then there would be so many questions, and that’s all the press would focus on.”

“So we’re not the first people you’ve gotten off the street?” Jisung wondered.

“No, my company has an orphanage, which, you guys will go to if you don’t wanna stay here. You’ll be well taken care of and we’ll make sure you’re adopted into a lovely home.”

“So… we’re not going back to the streets?”

“No, not again, not while you’re in my care. You and your family are the first who I’ve offered to join my family, you can say that I want to adopt you.”

“Why us?” Chenle questioned.

“I’ll let you in on another secret then, it’s cause you guys are special.”

“Special? How?”

“In time you’ll see, that is if you stay with us, I really hope you do.”

The boys went quiet, picking at what was left of their food. Tae glanced at Ten for a moment before putting back his focus on the boys.

“Do you guys have anymore questions?”

“Not right now…” Jisung mumbled.

“So, can I ask you some questions now?” They didn’t answer. “How about we get you some fresh burgers and fries and I can ask my questions.”

“And shakes!” Chenle cheered but then felt embarrassed. “Please…”

“Of course. Xiaojun, do you think you can get them some more food?”

“Extra fries.” Jisung added rather shyly. “Please…”

Xiaojun smiled and politely bowed. “I shall be but a moment.”

Xiao left the room, the two boys looking forward to some more food. They were pulled out of their head when the other person in the room took a seat.

“I’m Ten, and we’re gonna ask you some questions. I want you boys to answer as honest as possible, and if you don’t feel comfortable answering you don’t have to, okay?

Both boys nodded, a slightly dazed glint in their eyes. Ten smiled happily then gestured for Taeyong to ask his questions.

“Alright boys, let’s start with something simple. What’s your name?”

“Park Jisung.”

“Zhong Chenle.”

“Good. How did you boys meet?”

“When we were little, we went to the same school. We became fast friends.”

“And you’re still very close friends to this day, that’s wonderful. So, why don’t you tell me how you two ended up on the street.”

“Um…” Chenle started freaking out a bit.

“It’s okay, you’re safe, you both are.” Ten cooed. “Take a deep breath and just tell us what happened in the simplest way possible okay?”

Both boys did as they were told, taking a moment for themselves.

“It was just a field trip…” Jisung mumbled. “We had fun at the museum… but we all got really tired on the bus ride back… when we woke up it was dark… and cold… we weren’t on the bus anymore…”

“A scary man would show up… take someone… we’d never see them again… I didn’t want to disappear… and I didn’t want to lose Jisung… others tried to escape… but they all got caught… I wasn’t gonna let that happen… when I had the chance I took Jisung and ran… we left everyone else behind… I… I-”

“That’s enough.” Ten said. “Relax, both of you, those are just memories, they can’t hurt you. What you did, you did to survive, there’s no shame in that. Take a deep breath and calmly tell us what happened next.”

“There were trees everywhere…” Chenle continued. “We just kept walking and walking… I don’t know how we didn’t die, but eventually we got to some houses, no one wanted to help us. That’s when we started rummaging through the trash. Eventually heading towards the big city to have better trash to go through, but it was still hard.”

“Whenever we heard sirens we got scared, even if we probably should have gone to the police for help, maybe we would have gone home. It was hiding that led us to Haechan…”

“Haechan, how did you meet him?” Taeyong asked.

“We heard sirens, we hid, and then we heard some rattling in the dumpster. We were to scared to move and eventually we noticed another boy crawl out of the dumpster. He locked eyes with us and we were worried he would hurt us… instead he just gave us a bunch of apples. They were really fresh and good too.”

“No one was ever nice, or helped us, but he did, even though he clearly stole those apples for himself.” Chenle added, a little smile on his face. “It was kinda stupid but I took Jisung’s hand and we followed him. He noticed us quickly and we tried to pretend we weren’t doing anything ridiculous, honestly I thought he would run from us… but he just took our hands and led us to his place. He decided to take us in without a word, he looked after us and we relied on him.”

“We’d always cry when he came home injured cause we knew he was doing it for us. He’d hold us until we stopped… and fell asleep… he really took care of us, scolded us for stealing like him when we were trying to help Jeno. Even after we moved, he did so much for us, don’t know how we’d ever repay him.”

“That’s very sweet. Haechan is a wonderful caretaker isn’t he?”

“The best.”

“He clearly loves you both.” Taeyong smiled and looked at Ten. “Make them forget reminiscing about that field trip they just told us about. All I asked was about how they met and how they met Haechan.”

“Do you wanna do this for all of them?”

“Yes, it will give us an advantage.”

“What do you-”

“Wait, hold-”

Before the boys could say anything Ten spoke to them, calming them down. He did as Taeyong asked, the two boys dazed for a moment before coming back to their senses.

“Well, thank you both for being so cooperative. Shall I show you where you’ll be staying for the time being, before you make your decision.”

“That sounds awesome!”

“Yeah!”

“Well, I guess the rest of your food can be eaten there, more comfortable too.”

Taeyong escorted the boys out and took them to one of the floors above. He wasn’t quite sure why they both reached out to grab one of his hands, but he took it as a good sign. One of the floors of the building was designed as a dorm, besides the stairs leading to it, the main entrance was the elevator. When the doors opened both boys rushed inside, amazed by everything. They ran all over the place first, wanting to see everything, both ending up staring out the window for the incredible view of the city.

“I’m glad you both like it, your food is on the table, and the rest of your brothers should be up in a bit.”

“This is really cool mister!” Jisung said.

“I’m glad you like it. The rooms are all empty so you can have whichever you like, although, one is actually occupied right now.”

“Which room? Who’s in it?” Chenle asked.

“Haechan, he’s down-”

Before he could finish the two boys ran down the halls, ridiculously checking every room till they found Haechan. They rushed in, excitedly jumping on the bed, but their smile faded a bit when they realized their mom was asleep. Chenle pointing at the IV drip. Taeyong and Ten walked in a moment after.

“Sorry, I should have mentioned he’s still recovering in here.”

“Is… is he gonna be alright?” Jisung questioned.

“Yes, he just needs a lot of rest.”

The boy laid down next to Haechan, glad to be back together again. Chenle looked around the room before his eyes landed on the two others.”

“Mister, we never got your name.”

“You can just call me Taeyong.”

“Alright.” Chenle looked at Haechan. “I hope when you wake up you really like this place so we can stay!”

“Me too! It’s so awesome here Haechan!”

The two giggled, going on about everything all over the dorm. Taeyong watched them fondly before Xiaojun appeared behind him, telling him that he had a meeting to attend to in an hour. He nodded, asking for a minute.

“I have to get going boys, make yourself at home. Don’t forget to eat, I’ll have someone come up to look after you guys. Ten, can we talk.”

The two boys waved goodbye at Taeyong and Ten. They went to the elevator, Xiaojun on his phone sending messages about who knows what.

“Ten, stay with them for now. I’ll have Doyoung come up and look after them in a bit.”

“Fine, but who are we waking up next? And was it a good idea to put Haechan in the dorm like that? What if they wake him?”

“That’s why you’re here isn’t it? To prevent that from happening.” Taeyong took a breath. “Speak with Jeno next, but before you do, ask the little ones for quick details on the others. As for Haechan, they can’t be without their mother for long, that was clear from the start. Besides, he really does need rest, they won’t wake him. It’s finally their turn to look after Haechan.”

“Got it.”

“Good, oh and one more thing.”

“Hm?”

“Keep Mark away from them, all of them, until further notice.”

“Understood.”

“Have fun then.”

Xiaojun put a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder and the two disappeared into thin air. Ten sighed, checking his phone when it buzzed, a message from Doyoung saying he’d be up soon.

“You two better come eat before it gets cold.” Ten shouted. “Or I am eating those extra fries.”

He quickly heard footsteps running to the dining table. He smirked. Everyone there was rather serious, even Mark was as he worked his way up the ranks. Ten was still a little weary of the whole thing but he had to admit it seemed like it was gonna be fun having some kids around.


	4. Chapter 4

Jeno sat quietly at the table in the interrogation room. His eyes stared at the glass, as if he’d magically be able to see through it. The smell of fries and a burger filled the room but he didn’t want to eat, despite his stomach’s protests. Eventually the door opened, two people walking in and taking a seat across from him. He looked at them for a second and then stared at the table.

One had a tablet, typing away, then sliding it over so it would be in Jeno’s field of vision. It showed footage of Chenle and Jisung eating in the interrogation room, the same food that was laid out for Jeno. He looked up, his eyes going back and forth between the two. The footage was compelling, but he was still weary.

“It’s not poison, I promise. I’ll take a bite of it if you don’t trust me.” Jeno slid over the burger. “Fair. Did the little ones do this too?”

“They didn’t talk either, but Tae did eat some of the food to prove it was safe.”

“Makes sense. I’m Kun by the way.”

Kun took a piece of the burger and ate it, grabbing some fries too. Jeno watched, waiting to see if anything happened. Of course he didn’t expect anything, if the food was poison it wouldn’t have an affect on them. His eyes glanced back at the video of Chenle and Jisung eating.

“Where are they?”

“So he speaks.” Kun jokes. “They’re safe.”

“Where. Are. They.”

“It’s not like you can do anything now, but they’re in a dorm above us, happily eating some more fries and burgers. You’ll be reunited with them after we talk. Now eat. Please.”

Jeno stared at the food. He needed his strength in case anything went wrong. Kun pushed the food back towards him, leaning back in his chair. Jeno stared at it for a moment before grabbing the burger, he enjoyed the taste, it had been forever since he had one. They let him eat in peace for the most part.

“We wanna ask you some questions, is that alright?” Kun asked.

“What kinda questions? And who is he?” Jeno pointed at the other boy across the table.

“That’s Ten, he’s here to help.”

“Help?”

“Yes.” Ten smiled. “I want you to answer our questions honestly and to the best of your abilities. If you’re uncomfortable you don’t have to answer, understood.”

“Yeah.”

“Good, then we can begin. I’ll start by saying we know you ran away from home when you were fourteen, you were an honor student.”

“Worthless title.”

“If you think so.”

“You were involved with a gang back then.” Kun said. “What was that all about?”

“My parents… they got involved with those people and owed them a debt. I guess I was born to pay that debt, they threw we me into that stuff when I was young, so I didn’t know any better. Once you see a dead body… with its brains blown out, you tend to grow the fuck up real fast.”

“I see, so why be such a good boy in school?”

“I thought I could have a life, but I was wrong.”

“How come?”

“I knew too much, started off young. The gang figured I was theirs to raise, that they could raise me to be loyal and all that crap. As I grew close to paying off the debt they talked about my next steps moving forward, it was clear they didn’t plan on letting me go, so I ran.”

“What about school?”

“It wasn’t getting me anywhere.”

“Alright, what happened after you ran away?”

“Stick to what you know, ended up as a lacky with some gangster in town, far from home. I did simple jobs, very little information, and got paid enough to get by.”

“So, how did you come to care for Renjun and Jaemin?” Jeno grew quiet. “You did look after them on your own before you wound up with Haechan, correct?”

“How did you-”

“Answer the question.” Ten interrupted. “Please.”

“I came across Ren six months after I ran away from home. He was like me, a runaway, I kinda took pity on him, gave him a sandwich.” Jeno chuckled. “He slapped it out of my hand, said he didn’t want my pity. I admired his resolve, said I could maybe help him get out of that slump he was in. He was weary but took me up on my offer. I had a place, it was trash, but at least better than the streets. I wasn’t going to get him involved in gang affairs, and he never asked. He said he would find some way to pay me rent, to pay me back. I was never expecting him to, but I could tell he wanted to do more with his life.”

“And what about Jaemin?”

“Since you know about me, I suppose you know about him.”

“Yes, kidnapped, human trafficking.”

“The people I worked with, those higher up, heard them talking about that kinda stuff, that’s not something I was okay with. So, I figured out the details and broke all those kids out, most ran, but Jaemin stayed in the shipping container. I wasn’t going to leave him, so I took him home. He was very quiet at first, but I never forced him to speak. He talked eventually, started with his name, became quite chatty, just happy to be alive despite where he was.”

“So, how did you end up in a dumpster, half dead.”

Jeno scoffed. “You seem to know everything.”

“We know a lot, but we’d like to hear it from you.”

“Well, you don’t just break a bunch of kids out of a shipping container and get away with it. The gang knew it was an inside job, found out it was me who lost the thousands and beat me to a pulp, leaving me to die in a dumpster. I was very surprised to wake up somewhere else.”

“With Haechan?”

“Yes. He wasn’t really trying to save me, didn’t know how, just wanted to make sure I was comfortable… and didn’t die alone, but Chenle and Jisung had other ideas. I heard Haechan scold them both for stealing, but he knew they had grown fond of me, so he took it upon himself to fix me up. For a street kid, he did very well to help my injuries. The little ones didn’t want me to go, and I knew I needed to lay low, but I couldn’t just leave Renjun and Jaemin behind. Asked Haechan for a favor, and he went out to find them and bring them back. We’ve all been together ever since.”

“That’s very sweet, seems Haechan did well looking after all of you.”

“So are we done here?” Jeno finished his shake. “Or what else do you want to know.”

“I think we got what we wanted, do you have any questions?”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Subtle. We’re here to help, you can say we’re friends with Mark.”

“Mark? Really?”

“Yes, he’s been working for us for the last three years. He’s wanted to bring you all here ever since.”

“He wants us here? Why?”

“He wanted to be with his family, it’s just taken so long to find you, Haechan kept you off the grid very well. I’m honestly quite impressed.”

“Well you found us, congrats. If Mark wants us to stay where is he?”

“Busy, besides, he works for us, if you really are going to stay we need to approve as well.”

“Wasn’t it a promise? When you caught us that guy said Mark promised you us.”

Ten scoffed. “Clever one aren’t you? Yes, Mark promised us his family, that is, promised us you’d be well behaved if we let you live with us. Mark wanted to join us as long he could keep you all around. He wanted a better life for you after all.”

“And what if we refuse?”

“Well, you’re not going back to the streets.” Kun assured. “The little ones will be put into one of our orphanages and we’ll make sure they find nice homes. As for the rest of you who are of age, we can help you get jobs and homes, so you can build a proper life for yourself.”

“So you’re going to separate us?”

“I suppose we can make arrangements so you can continue living together, and get the paperwork in order so the little ones won’t be taken from you. If that’s what you really want, but you don’t need to decide now. Once we’ve finished talking to each of you, you’ll be gathered in the dorm and can make a decision. We’ll respect whatever you decide to do.”

“And what about Mark?”

“He wants you here with us, yes, but the choice to stay is ultimately yours, isn’t it?”

“How kind of you.”

“Now, would you like to see your brothers?”

“Yes, but I have one more question, and answer it this time, who are you?”

“Let’s just say we’re a pretty big company who’s going to make the world a better place and Mark works security for us.”

“I’ll take that, for now.”

“Good. Now, would you come with me.”

Kun stood up going to the door. Although Ten spoke up, telling Jeno to forget certain parts of their conversation before he left the room.

♥♥♥♥♥

Ten had stayed in the interrogation room, playing a game on the tablet when the door opened, Jaehyun walking in carrying another one of the boys. 

“Our next subject.”

“Is this who you wanted?”

“Little Renjun, yes.”

“He’ll wake up in a few minutes. Do you want anything?”

“No, I’m good thank you.”

“Okay, Kun should be back in a sec.”

“Good.”

Jaehyun carefully set Ren down in the chair, resting his head on the table, leaving the blanket. Moments later Kun walked in with the usual fast food delivery. He chuckled seeing the other boy still sleeping and sat down.

“No more waiting?”

“No.” Ten kept his eyes on the game. “Just wasting our time, might as well get straight to the point.”

“I suppose so.”

Ren suddenly whimpered, slowly sitting up. He was still very groggy, but was quick to notice the food. He reached over and ate some fries, grabbing the shake when he finally realized he wasn’t alone in the room. He sat up, starting to regret his decision to just eat.

“It’s not poison.” Ten smiled. “The rest of your brothers have eaten the same as well, so it’s safe.”

“Thanks…”

The boy kept eating, pulling the food closer to him, he was clearly hungry. The other two stayed quiet, letting him eat in peace.

“What… what do you want?”

“We just have a few questions for you.”

“About? Where is the rest of my family.”

“They’re waiting for you but we need to talk first, so just answer us honestly and they’ll be no problem, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good.” Kun said. “My name is Kun, my partner here is Ten, and we’ll start with the basics, why did you run from your foster home?”

“Ah… that… it was really crowded for starters… and… well they weren’t my parents, if my real ones didn’t care why would the fake ones.”

“That’s some pretty sound logic. I guess you were right, they never reported you ran away, just kept collecting checks.”

“See.”

“Well, you ran, how did that go on the streets? Before you met Jeno that is.”

“Who told you…” Ren sipped his shake. “I had some money so I used most of it to get as far away as possible, always did worry about getting caught. I used what I had left for food but obviously that ran out. So I just lived on the streets, stole what I needed, never too greedy, I was pretty quick. I didn’t know what to do with myself though, I had nothing, but I didn’t want any handouts.”

“So when Jeno offered you a sandwich you just slapped it out of his hands.”

“A stupid thing really, waste of a perfectly good sandwich, but he didn’t seem pissed, amused more than anything. Offered me a place, it was probably also a bad idea to agree, but if he killed me, wouldn’t have changed my fate anyway. He was kind, just trying to give me a decent home, I swore to pay him back. Find some way to get on my feet, get a job, be on his level.”

“Did you know where the money came from?”

“Not at first, but he came home bloody one day so I assumed, but never asked.”

“So how did you feel when he brought another boy home, Jaemin?”

“What don’t you know?”

Kun shrugged. “We know things.”

“Sure… well Jaemin was quiet at first, I never asked where he came from, just figured Jeno was kind to someone else, like he was to me. He eventually started talking and we got along well.”

“And how did you feel when Jeno disappeared?”

“I… we were worried, he wasn’t the kind to leave us alone. Jaemin wasn’t really knowledgeable on how to survive on the streets, but Jeno did have some emergency money for us to use. After a week we both figured he was dead, and so I went back to stealing to make sure we had food. When I came home one day there was someone else in the place, it was Haechan, he told us he was looking after Jeno, and that he was worried about us. I didn’t believe him but he told us things that only Jeno knew, so we went with him, relieved to see Jeno alive and doing well. We stayed with Haechan after that, becoming a family.”

“Yes, we’re aware. Do you have any questions for us?”

“What do you want? We’re a bunch of street kids.”

“You remember Mark don’t you?”

“He left us, he doesn’t matter.”

“Well he never forgot about you. He agreed to work for us if he got to bring his family along, took us a while to find you, but now that we have, we can move forward. You won’t be forced to stay, you and your family can discuss everything, we just want to make sure you won’t cause us issues.”

“You mean steal from you?” Ren laughed. “Jaemin learned the art of sleight of hand too, so I’d watch it around us, but can you really blame us.”

“Of course not, how about we go see the rest of your brothers.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Jaemin sat quietly, staring at the table. There was another person in the room, but it was clear they were both waiting for someone else. Since there wasn’t a clock he didn’t know how much time had passed before the door opened. The guy who walked in set down some food, clearly meant for him but he wasn’t hungry.

“Where’s Kun?”

“Busy, so I’ll be conducting this interview. If you don’t mind.”

“Why would I.”

The other sat down and then they were both looking at him. Jaemin was nervous, and scared, but most of all worried. He was alone and he had no idea where the rest of his brothers were.

“Well, we should fill the silence. My name is Jaehyun, and this is my… friend, Ten.”

“Hello there.”

“We work for a big company that’s making the world a better place and Mark is one of our employees. He spoke highly of all of you and has wanted to bring you here, give you a new home.”

“You should eat, help wake you up, and it’s really good.”

“I’m not hungry…”

“All you’ve had is an IV drip, please eat.”

Jaemin looked at Ten for a moment, then at Jaehyun before reaching for the shake. The sweet taste brought a smile to his face, and he ate.

“If Mark wants me, wants my family here, where is he?”

“Busy.” Jaehyun admitted. “He works security for us so you can imagine that keeps him busy. You’ll see him later. For now we have some questions we would like you to answer before we let you get back to your family.”

“Are they okay?”

“Yes. So do you think we can talk?”

“Sure…”

“Answer us honestly.” Ten said. “Please, it will make things go quicker okay.”

“Okay.”

“Good. Then let’s start, how was school like back then?”

“I don’t see-”

“Please answer the question.”

Jaemin sighed. “It sucked… barely had any friends, none really, but I got by just fine on my own. I was… picked on, never really understood why, and no one cared, not even my parents. Some teachers wanted me to talk but I knew there would be no point, nothing would change, I’d just be in more trouble… that is until I got kidnapped.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Not too surprised honestly… quite a few of the kids in my school just disappeared. I don’t remember much of it though. I was walking home and then there was a bag over my head, darkness was all I knew for days. I don’t know how much time passed before I actually got to see the sun.”

“Jeno found you in a shipping container.” Jaehyun said. “You were the only one who didn’t run to freedom, how come?”

“I didn’t think I’d get anywhere, figured it would be pointless to run, so Jeno just took me. I didn’t fight him either, I was never a fighter and I wasn’t going to start then, he was really kind though, so I eventually opened up.”

“But then he disappeared.”

“Yes… Renjun and I were… scared… well I was scared, I didn’t want to be alone again, I had Ren but we both wanted Jeno back. After a few days we accepted the worst and Ren picked up the slack, I was still trying to get my life in order when someone suddenly showed up at our place. I thought the knocks were Jeno so I opened the door, but instead there was someone else. I freaked and tried to close the door but he pushed his way in. He definitely did well not to frighten me anymore, calmly telling me he was a friend of Jeno’s and was there to help. We talked, Ren came back… and then we left. I was glad Jeno was alive, and grateful to Haechan. The little ones welcomed us, and it was kinda hard to even think of leaving.”

“All we’ve heard are good things about Haechan, you guys all owe him huh?”

“No, he’s looked after us, I doubt he’d ever let us do anything for him if we were doing it to pay him back.”

“Interesting, well, do you have any questions for us?”

“I want to leave…”

“You can talk to your family about that.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Haechan groaned as he slowly awoke, rolling over. He snuggled against the pillow, warm and comfortable. His hands felt the softness of the sheets and then his eyes snapped open. He quickly remembered what had happened, sitting up in bed, then grabbing his head from the sudden rush.

“Wow, that was smart.”

He looked over to see a familiar face sitting on the other side of the room, eyes on his phone, it was the guy who had tranqed him and his family. Haechan looked around the room, it was pretty empty, but he quickly noticed the heart monitor and needle in his arms. He grabbed at it but was interrupted.

“I wouldn’t do that, you’re still recovering.”

“From what?”

“I’m not a doctor so I don’t know, but I’m told it’s surprising you’re still on your feet.” He looked up for a second and smirked. “I’m Johnny by the way.”

“Where are the others?”

“Outside that door, but we do need to talk first.”

“About what?”

“A lot.”


	5. Chapter 5

Haechan glared and ignored the previous warnings, pulling out the needles. The machines started to go off and the door burst open moments later. Jisung and Chenle were hugging him before he realized who had come in. He the rest of his boys come into the room, everyone seemed worried about him.

“What’s going on?”

“Are you alright?” Chenle asked. “You gotta stay in bed and rest.”

“What?”

“The doctor said you’ve been sick.” Jeno added. “It’s why you’ve been in bed.”

“I’m not sic-”

“Malnourished.” Johnny cut in. “You haven’t been growing properly, way more than the rest, seems you did well to look after them.”

“What do you know.”

“A few things. Now, kids, I do need to speak with him, and don’t worry I’ll make sure he’s okay. You can get back to your game and snacks.”

“Okay, I really hope we can stay here.” Jisung said. “It’s nice.”

“We’ll see about that ok.”

Haechan ruffled his hair, the others giving him a hug before leaving. Then it was just him and Johnny again. It was quiet, and awkward. Johnny pointed to the clothes on the chest by the foot of the bed.

“Get dressed, we have a lot to talk about.”

After Haechan was dressed he followed Johnny out of the room. The dorm was huge, although still rather empty. He could hear the others playing games in the living room, clearly enjoying themselves. They waved but Johnny took him to an elevator, going up.

“Have you ever heard of NCT?”

“That huge company? What don’t they own. I mean… wait… you’re not-”

“Yes, we are.”

“What do you want?”

“Straight to the point then.” Johnny laughed. “We’re not bad people you know.”

“Says the asshole who shot me.”

“With a tranq gun.”

“How about kidnapping?”

“You’re not being held hostage.”

“Just cause you gave the others food and games doesn’t mean we aren’t being held against our will.”

“You’re free to leave after we talk.”

The doors opened into a penthouse, the other wall made of glass, letting them see the skyline. Haechan slowly walked forward, a table with food in the center. Johnny gestured for him to take a seat, the two sitting across from each other. Even though Johnny started eating Haechan did no such thing, merely watching.

“Our chef is a fantastic cook and we wouldn’t ruin their cooking by adding drugs or something, so eat. You’ve been on an IV drip for like a day now and you must be starving.”

Haechan felt his stomach growl and knew he did need food. He swallowed his own pride and ate. It was good, and he had his fill, something he hadn’t done in a long time. Since he could see the city he had a vague idea where they were and how to get home, whatever this was, he didn’t like it.

“So, Haechan, can I call Haechan?”

“No.”

“Donghyuck it is then.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised that this guy knew his real name, probably more about him too. They had probably spoken to the others and got some information, he just didn’t know how much.

“Where’s Mark?”

“Working, why? You wanna see him?”

“No, I want him to stay away from me and my family.”

“Wasn’t it once his family too.”

“He bailed, so he can get fucked.”

“Noted. So, I’ll get to the main point here. Mark works for us, we made him an offer and he agreed under the condition we’d allow him to bring his family.”

“Bullshit, you told me yourself, Mark promised you us, we aren’t property or some bargaining chip. We want nothing to do with him, or you, so good talk, now let us go.”

“Let me ask, where would you go? You have issues here don’t you? And the items you had in the car aren’t much, you don’t even have a vehicle.”

“I’ll get one.”

“You mean steal one.”

“There’s no difference to me. We’ll just start over, far away from you and Mark.”

“You think we don’t have the means to find you?”

“I don’t see a reason why you would.”

“How about I just make my offer, mind lending me your ear for a few minutes?”

“You’re wasting time.”

Johnny scoffed. “Alright, we, outside of Mark, would like you to stay. The dorm you woke up in is yours to keep if you agree. Everything will be provided for you, and you’ll be well taken care of.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you do that? What do you want in return? Us to work for you? Add to the good press of your company.”

“None of that, we’re a family, and given the situation, it wouldn’t be right of us to just let you go back to the streets.”

“Well, regardless, I refuse.”

“If that’s what you really want, then we’ll help you find a place, jobs, get the paperwork in order so Jisung and Chenle can’t be taken from you.”

“We don’t need your help.”

“Are you really not going to consider what’s best for your family?”

“I don’t think staying with those who kidnapped us is a good idea, call me crazy.”

“You took in two little kids, found a corpse in the dumpster and brought home it’s friends. One could say you’ve made a lot of good choices, and turning down a warm bed, food, a roof, and happiness is the first bad one you’ve made.”

“The first bad choice I made was letting Mark into my life and theirs.”

“Well, you’re being a bad mother.”

“Shut up, you were practically born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

“No, no, no, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m from the streets too, I worked hard here and worked my way to the top, Mark’s been doing the same for the last three years.”

“Good for him, I see he got to embrace the violence.”

“You won’t be involved in our business if you stay.”

“No, just Mark’s little hostage family.”

“Stubborn, just like Mark.”

“Don’t compare us.”

“Alright, now I haven’t made my whole pitch, so how about a tour of the place, then you can talk to your kids and chose to leave or not.”

“I already gave you my answer.”

“Yeah, yeah, just amuse me would ya.”

Haechan rolled his eyes but got up, intending to follow Johnny. Although when he stood he suddenly felt dizzy. He collapsed to the floor, his eyes rolled back, seizing. Johnny heard him collapse, quickly making a call and checking on Haechan. He wasn’t a doctor so this wasn’t his area. Lucas suddenly appeared in front of him, grabbing Haechan’s hand and disappearing, moments later taking Johnny. They were in the infirmary, Jungwoo and Hendery looking over Haechan as he seized in bed.

“What is happening to him?!” Johnny yelled. “You said there were no side effects!”

“They were all unconscious when I got those results!” Hendery spat back. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything! We were having lunch. Now tell me what’s happening!”

“Haechan?”

Mark had made his way to the infirmary, wanting to speak with Jungwoo only to see Haechan in the bed. He ran over but Johnny grabbed him and held him back.

“Haechan! What’s going on! Haechan!”

“Mark you’re not supposed to be here! You know the-”

“Haechan!”

“Yukhei, get him out of here! And deal with him!”

Johnny shoved Mark over to Yukhei and the two disappeared. Jungwoo was the only one who had been quiet and actually attending to Haechan. Once the seizure had passed he began checking his vitals, and the body did not wake.

“What happened?” Johnny asked again. “Someone needs to explain right now.”

“This works for us.” Jungwoo mumbled.

“How the fuck does that work!”

“The first part of the serum is to see if they can handle it, and it tends to be a slow process. Haechan has been through a lot, it seems his body chose to just try his luck and fight it.”

“And?”

“He won.”

“No way.” Hendery started to look over the boy. “That’s not… it took Mark nearly three months before we could move on to the second serum.”

“We might need to give him a day to recover at best, but we should be able to continue without issue.” Jungwoo added. “How did your conversation go?”

“He refuses to stay, and clearly he can’t talk to the others.”

“Taeyong wanted confirmation by tomorrow. The kids want to stay don’t they.”

“I’d be wrong to lie and tell them Haechan agreed as well.”

“As if they’d leave right now given their moms condition. This can work for us you know, he’s too sick to leave, let them get more attached to this place.”

“And Mark.” Doyoung walked in. “Let the kids reunite with him, we do want them on good terms don’t we.”

“No.” Johnny said. “He’s not allowed-”

“Mommy’s out of commision and we have the next best thing. We need those kids to be on our side.”

“You’re only worried cause if this doesn’t work out Taeyong’s gonna be pissed.”

“They all have potential and you know it.”

“Then go take it up with Taeyong about letting Mark near them.”

“I will, my reasoning is on the bed behind you, and he’s to stay here until we decided what to do next. They won’t be happy to see Haechan passed out again.”

“Then you only have a few hours before they get restless and ask about him.”

“I know.”

“Then have fun.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Jeno stared at the elevator, waiting for it to open. If he could use it he would have, wanting to look for Haechan, who had been gone for a really long time. There were only elevators door, he would need a key card to call it, and using the stairs would sound an alarm. He really started to feel like they were trapped there.

The others weren’t worried, to wrapped up in the game to notice anything off. Although when the elevator dinged everyone got up. They excitedly awaited Haechan, but everyone quickly froze when the doors opened. Haechan was in a wheelchair, Doyung and someone else was also there, but neither of them was the one pushing the chair. Mark smiled at them, clearly happy to see them, but they didn’t necessarily feel the same.

“What happened to him?” Jisung had tears in his eyes. “I thought…”

“He’s going to be okay.” The one in a lab coat said. “He’s just still a little sick that’s all, might not have been a good idea to get out of bed so soon.”

“This is our doctor, Jungwoo.” Doyoung introduced. “He’s been looking after all of you.”

“It’s nice to see you all on your feet. I’m gonna get Haechan here back in bed and then if you don’t mind I’d like to check up on all of you.”

Mark went with Jungwoo, leaving Doyoung with the others. Given their silence on Mark, it seemed that rekindling their relationship wasn’t going to be as easy as he hoped. The kids sat down, waiting, when Mark returned no one paid him any attention, although he kept his hopes up.

“Hey guys… long time no see…”

“I wonder why.” Jeno mumbled.

“Look, I know we didn’t leave off on great terms, but I can explain.”

“You left us.” Chenle said. “What else do you want to say?”

“I didn’t mean to… honestly it’s Doyoung’s fault I didn’t get back to you in time.”

“What?” 

“He hit me with his car.”

It got quiet, some showed a hint of concern but they weren’t sure if he was lying or not. If they had been alone Doyoung would have smacked Mark for that comment.

“He… He did?” Ren questioned.

“Yeah, it was an accident. I wasn’t so bad, but he didn’t just want to leave me so he called an ambulance and rushed me to the hospital. When I came to… it was morning… and I knew Haechan would keep his word about leaving…”

“He started crying.” Doyoung added. “My apologies weren’t helpful and he explained to me what he promised. I felt bad, having ripped him from his family, so I offered him a job here, promising to look for you guys.”

“Yeah.” Mark laughed. “It took three years to find you, so Haechan is very good at hiding.”

“You’ve been looking…” Jaemin began. “For that long… you didn’t mean to leave?”

“Of course not. I knew I would find you if I stayed, and here we are. You must all be upset with me, I know Haechan is but-”

Jaemin hugged Mark, followed by Renjun and Chenle. The only ones who didn’t move were Jeno and Jisung. Mark was just happy they didn’t all hate him, he had been working hard for a long time, the hope of seeing them again was what kept him going. Of course he had lied about what happened that day, wanting to make it sound better than it actually was, and he was glad Doyoung added to it.

“I know that you guys must have been scared coming here, sorry about that. I was hoping to talk to you first, but Haechan kicked me out of the house and didn’t want me to see you.”

“That’s why we left.” Renjun realized. “He didn’t want us to see you.”

“I don’t blame him, he didn’t give me a chance to talk and explain, but hopefully when he wakes up I can get him to listen.”

“We can help.” Chenle added. “He’ll certainly listen to us.”

“That would be great.”

“So you think it’s that easy.” Jeno finally spoke. “Explain what happened and why we’re here?”

“I don’t-”

“Haechan told you not to go that night, he asked you, begged you to stay.”

“I had to so-”

“You were just trying to fix the problem you created, you know that right, and instead you created more problems. I’m pretty sure Haechan’s been pissed at you for the last three years. He can’t stand to hear your name or any hint of you. Do you really think some explanation and apology is going to fix things?”

“If he just gives me a chance-”

“We were doing fine, he was having us all go to school, while he stayed home and took care of everything else. He rarely let us help him and you know that’s your fault.”

“What? I don’t-”

“He relied on you and you let him down, he refuses to rely on anyone else, not even us. If not for you we wouldn’t have had to run, Haechan wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder, and he certainly wouldn’t have been so sick because of you!”

“You can’t just blame me for-”

“You don’t know…” Jisung had started crying. “You don’t know the things he’s done for us!”

Jisung ran off, Chenle soon chasing after him. The rest remained in silence, Jeno leaving as well without a word. The other two looked down, starting to feel that their actions towards Mark were inappropriate.

“Jaemin… Renjun… please, I-”

“He’s right.” Jaemin said. “Apologies are just words… it doesn’t change what happened…”

“I-”

The two got up and left, Mark feeling heartbroken once again. Doyoung pulled him up to his feet, dragging him along to the elevator. He didn’t know how he was going to fix things, but he just wanted to talk to Haechan more than anything.

♥♥♥♥♥

Jungwoo jumped a bit when Jisung burst into the room, tears in his eyes. The boy hugged Haechan, not noticing the other in the room. A second later Chenle came in.

“What’s wrong with him.” Jisung asked. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He never got much of a break did he?” 

“No… sometimes I wondered if he even slept.”

“He’s very tired, hasn’t gotten much rest and now that we sorta made him, his body really wants to catch up. You guys should keep him in bed.”

“How long?”

“Hm?”

“How long until he’s okay? So we can go.”

“Don’t wanna stay huh? Well a few days, I’ll come by and check on him if you want so I can tell you when.”

“Yeah, that’d be good.”

“Okay, now I do want to check up on the rest of you, come on, let Haechan rest.”


	6. Chapter 6

“You are so dead when Taeyong finds out your little plan went sideways.”

Johnny couldn’t contain his laughter, so much had gone wrong so fast he was laughing to hide some of his concern. Of course Doyoung’s plan to let Mark interact with the others was great in hindsight but came up with awful results.

“Mark is going to ruin everything at this rate.”

“Shut up. Things may not have gone in our favor but we learned something.”

“What?”

“Jeno has his own issues with Mark.”

“So?”

“Maybe we should focus on repairing their individual relationships with Mark, get them to trust him and us by association. That way Haechan is outnumbered in votes, if all his kids want to stay, he won’t force them to leave.”

“Great idea.” Johnny rolled his eyes. “As if that will fix everything. Jungwoo, how is mommy dearest?”

“Oh, um, after the incident in the infirmary, Hendery and I took the next step in the process. He’s been on the second serum for a few hours now. So far there have been no negative side effects and there probably won’t be but there is still a chance for things to go wrong.”

“And the others?”

“I ran a checkup with all of them, they are progressing normally and no side effects have presented themselves.”

“I could hear you yelling from another floor.”

Ten let himself into the office, seeing the other three. He hadn’t been lying about hearing them yelling, but of course he had just been down the hall.

“It was very upsetting, but what’s more upsetting is that we haven’t secured our latest recruits. The longer this takes the more problems we’ll have, and I don’t want to step in.”

“So then what do you propose we do?” Johnny asked. “Shall I take over given how badly Doyoung has failed.”

“Ya!” Doyoung snapped. “They’re still in the building. It’s not a failure.”

“Right, take the small victories.”

“Shut it.” Ten snapped. “Both of you. This was Doyoung’s idea, so he is responsible.”

“Haha! Get fucked.”

“But-”

“But what?”

“You’re also responsible and in charge while Taeyong is gone.”

“Technically speaking you’re also in charge when Taeyong is away.” Doyoung said. “So we’re all responsible.”

“I can absolutely take control if necessary, but I’m not, yet.”

“Huh?”

“You and Johnny are going to work together-”

“What!”

“Excuse me?”

“AND! You have a day to make actual progress before I, firstly, tell Taeyong, then handle this situation myself. Do I make myself clear?”

“Fine.”

“Okay… but only a day?”

“Should I make it less?”

“No, no, I just mean. If we’re going to do this with so little time we should ask the others for help. Haechan is already showing incredible potential, do you really want to leave this to the two of us to fuck up further?”

“Oh so you admit to fucking up?” Johnny questioned. “About time.”

“No, I’m just saying this is for our benefit as NCT, the others should be allowed to help us.”

“Fine.” Ten agreed. “Good luck convincing Kun to let you borrow Sicheng.”

“We might not need him specifically, but there are two others much more useful.” 

♥♥♥♥♥

“You want me to do what?”

After discussing their plan, Doyoung went off to get Mark, who was locked up in his room, not by choice.

“Last time I talked with them… well you were there.”

“So you don’t want to fix things?”

“I do… but I don’t think they do.”

“Then we try again, a different approach.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“We start with one at a time. Rebuild your relationships with them individually first, better than having five of them screaming at you all at once.”

“That could work.”

“Exactly, so who do you want to start with?”

♥♥♥♥♥

Jeno didn’t like the idea of leaving the others, but he didn’t think he had much choice. Doyoung had asked him to come along, but didn’t specify why. He assured the others he’d be fine, even if he wasn’t sure of that. He quietly followed, not recognizing anything around him, or even knowing where he was. All he knew was that they were in some building in the city, and pretty high up to.

At some point they stopped walking through halls and went into a room, it was not what Jeno was expecting. He walked into a gym area, workout equipment around, and a big mat in the center, with Mark on it. He immediately wanted to leave but Doyoung stopped him, pulling him over to the side.

“What is this?”

“You two are gonna talk.”

“Talk? In here?”

“Yeah.”

Doyoung grabbed Jeno’s hand, starting to wrap it. Jeno looked over at Mark, seeing that he was also ready for a fight. He started to figure out what this was all about, and a part of him thought it was a joke

“Have fun.”

Once Doyoung was finished he playfully ruffled Jeno’s hair and left the room. Jeno stood around for a moment the looked over at Mark.

“What do you want?”

“To talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Then don’t talk.” Mark waved him over. “I’m sure you got something else you want to do.”

Jeno scoffed and walked onto the mat, getting his shoes off. Given the place it would be foolish to assume Mark didn’t have any skills. Still, if he was going to put himself in this situation Jeno wasn’t going to pass it off. He kept that uninterested look on his face and then clocked Mark. His hyung fell to the floor and Jeno started kicking him.

“You should have died when that car hit you! You never should have come back!” Jeno got on top of him and started punching. “You didn’t just leave Haechan, you left us! All of us!”

Mark threw Jeno off of him and got to his feet, wiping away some of the blood on his face. He didn’t seem pissed, but glad, as if that’s exactly what he wanted.

“You think I wanted to leave you behind? Even after the hit, you think I could just go find you? Do you think you’re the only person who cares about Haechan? You think I haven’t been in pain? That I haven’t missed you!”

Jeno didn’t want to hear his apologies, getting back on his feet and charging at Mark. This time he wasn’t just gonna take it and the two actually started fighting. Hits landed on both sides, Mark was calm, but every miss just kept pissing Jeno off. Eventually Mark took control and flipped the other, pinning them down.

“What about you then?”

“Huh?”

“Besides leaving Haechan, what’s your personal bone to pick with me?”

Jeno headbut Mark and threw him off, scrambling away and getting to his feet. He was never much of a fighter, even back then, but he expected Mark to hold better given the last three years. Instead it was clear his hyung was holding back and getting a beating by choice.

“You promised me.”

“Promised what?”

“That you wouldn’t leave us, unless you couldn’t come back. I thought you were dead, and I made my peace with that.” Jeno scoffed. “I think I forgave you too. Now you’re really just dead to me.”

“I would rather be dead too, but that wasn’t a choice I had. I stayed alive, I worked my way up the ranks here to provide you all with a better life. Just cause you hate me doesn’t you need to reject the chance at a better life.”

“Being locked up is better?”

“If you give this place a chance, instead of hating me, you’d see how this is for your benefit, for everyone’s benefit. You really think Haechan can take care of you forever? You don’t think he’ll work himself to death for you?”

“Why don’t you just say what you really mean!”

“You’re gonna get Haechan killed! Not me, you, because he loves you all too much to let you burden any of the pain. Or has him lying in bed not shown you that yet.” 

Jeno screamed and charged at Mark again. He wasn’t aiming to hit him, but knock him down. He pinned Mark down and started hitting him in a fit of rage, tears blurring his vision.

“You’re lying, you’re just a liar! That’s all you’ve ever been to any of us.”

Mark flipped things around and pin the other down, this time keeping him there. He waited a moment to let Jeno calm himself down.

“Hate me all you want, but you should think about what’s best for all of you right now, what’s best for Haechan. I don’t hate you guys, I’m not mad that you’re mad at me for whatever reason you’ve told yourself. I’m sorry things had to be this way, I really am, and I will keep trying to fix things but in the end all I care is that you guys are okay, with or without me.”

The two stared at each other for a while before Mark got up. He grabbed a towel from a bench and went into what appeared to be the locker room. Jeno stayed on the floor, catching his breath, the bruises and hits finally starting to settle in. It wasn’t long before another person came into Jeno’s view.

“Had fun?” 

♥♥♥♥♥

Back in the dorm Jaemin knocked on Haechan’s door, he wasn’t awake, but he knew who was in there. He let himself in, seeing Jisung sitting on the floor next to the bed, drawing or playing with something to keep himself busy. He sat down as well.

“How’s Haechan?”

“Doctor says he’s alright, shouldn’t have been up yet.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear.” Jaemin took a breath. “Sorry about Mark.”

“Why? Cause you forgive him?”

“Is it that hard to give him the benefit of the doubt?”

“Remember the first time Haechan came home bloody? Before we ever knew Mark? He got caught stealing, instead of calling the police he took a beating, just so he could come home. Still brought home some food…”

“Yeah…”

“It was rare, and with Mark, it never happened, Haechan didn’t have to burden so much.”

“But wasn’t Mark the one to come home bloody?”

“He knew how to take care of himself, so it was never as bad as Haechan… but when we left… a couple nights after we settled down, I heard some crying… it was the middle of the night… saw Haechan cleaning up his face, treating his wounds, quite a bit of blood… he got hurt a lot more then… and I know… I know… if Mark hadn’t left… we would have been okay…” Jisung looked up at Haechan. “I stopped hugging him so much cause I was scared I would hurt him.”

“Yeah I remember.”

“I want to be strong, like Haechan… but I don’t know what to do now.”

“You can start by doing what’s best.”

“What?”

“Haechan always did what was best for us even if he didn’t like it. We haven’t talked yet, but this is our chance to have a proper home. If we stay Haechan won’t have to break himself to take care of us. We’ll have a home.”

“But… Mark…”

“If you take a step back… he’s actually keeping his promises. Three years later, but it’s something you know.” Jaemin laughed. “Besides, Haechan needs time to heal, a lot, before leaving is even a good idea. Staying is what’s best, and it doesn’t mean we have to forgive Mark, but we can give him a chance, maybe, after… ten years?”

Jisung chuckled. “Yeah maye.”

“You’re not a little kid anymore, and don’t spend so much time in here, we’re all watching over Haechan, remember, and he’s safe.”

Jaemin makes his exit, closing the door quietly behind him and heading down the hall. He was hoping not to be bothered, but Renjun opened the door to his room and stepped out.

“Nana? I thought you went with Doyoung?”

“I did, just came back to get something real quick.”

“Oh, okay, are we going for private interviews too?”

“Most likely, just wait a while..”

“Okay.”

Ren went back to his room, letting Jaemin take a breath. When he got to the living room he saw Chenle playing games.

“Yo, I just talked with Jisung, can you check on him for me.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah I would just like a second opinion.”

“Sure.”

Chenle paused his game and went off, Jaemin waiting until he had gone in a room. He looked around, just double checking to make sure he was alone and no eyes were on him. With that confirmed he pulled out a key card from his pocket and swiped it to call the elevator. He checked again to make sure no one had heard and stepped in when the doors opened for him. As they close he returned to his true form, Jaehyun, as he hits the down button.

He fixed us his hair, taking a moment to use the elevators reflective mirror like walls to his advantage. When the doors opened he made his way down the hall, seeing Doyoung outside the gym on his phone. The two shared a smile and a glance before Doyoung went on his way. Jae used his phone to take a peek into the gym, seeing Jeno on the floor while Mark walked away into the locker room. That was his cue and so he went in.

“Had fun?” Jaehyun helped Jeno up. “You look like shit.”

“You should see the other guy.”

“I should. Water’s on the bench, give me a sec then we’ll go to the infirmary.”

Jaehyun excused himself for a moment and went into the locker room, locking the door behind him, just in case. He saw Mark wiping off his sweat in front of the mirror.

“So what do you think?”

“He’s a fighter alright, got it in for Mark, but you know what to expect from them. A mess of emotions.”

“Can you take his face off already?”

“Ouch. I thought you’d like to see his face roughed up.”

“We’ve both seen enough of that.”

Mark chuckled and then shifted to Yukhei, running a hand through his hair, his wounds healing all at once.

“I hate shifting to someone shorter than me.”

“I got lucky in that department.”

“And why did I have to take this case? You can take a punch too.”

“Yeah but you’re better suited for fighting.”

“Whatever, go take the kid to the infirmary.”

♥♥♥♥♥

After talking with Doyoung, Mark waited around in a conference room. He was nervous, one on one, he was afraid things wouldn’t end well. When the door finally opened he stood up, Jaemin quietly walking in. Doyoung wished them well and shut the door. 

“Sit… um, please, if you want to… that is…”

Jaemin only spared him a glance and sat down at the other end of the table. Mark also returned to his seat. Silence filled the room for a while before he cleared his throat.

“Do you… do you hate me?”

“I don’t know… you just disappeared one day.”

“I’m sorry…”

“That doesn’t change the last three years.”

“I know, I know, but I mean it. It wasn’t my plan to… abandon you, I just wanted to make sure things could be better, that night was supposed to be my last. I was gonna make it… but things outside of my otrol happened.”

“What do you want here?”

“I told you what happened. I want you guys to have a better life, that’s all I’ve been working for, and I can finally give it to you.”

“What if we don’t want it?”

“Jaemin, you know Haechan, he’s stubborn, he won’t want to stay to save his pride, but you know that staying is best. This isn’t about me and him, or the rest of you and me, it’s about you guys being better off. Look all I’m really asking here is for you to give me a chance, not for you to take me back, but to show you how good this place is. I want you to help me convince the others… you’re all grown up now… I’m sorry I missed that…”

Jaemin was silent for a while. “You know Haechan is never gonna want to stay, pride, stubborn, whatever it is, your new friends left a really bad taste in his mouth.”

“You’ll help me?”

“Not you, us. You may have told your new friends about us, but the invitation to stay comes from them, not you. I want what’s best for my brothers, for Haechan, maybe you can start there with earning forgiveness.”

“I will, I still care about all of you, and I’m not giving up on you guys, ever.”


	7. Chapter 7

Jisung stared at the skyline from the window of their dorm. He had never seen such a view, and he never thought he’d be so fortunate to enjoy it, let alone with clean clothes, food in his belly, and a home. He wasn’t alone, Chenle playing video games on the couch.

“You have to admit… the last few days have been… good…”

“So?”

“If we leave… things won’t ever be like this again.”

“What makes you say that.”

“Look around, gosh aren’t you playing on the latest gaming console that cost like five hundred dollars? We could never afford a life like this, not if we all worked ourselves to death.”

“So what are you saying?”

“Hechan is sick, he’s been sick for a while. He’s not even awake yet. If we leave do you think we can take care of him? He’d be more at ease here, if we stay.” 

“And you don’t think Mark’s gonna hang around and annoy him?”

“There are a lot of other people here, we can probably keep him away or ask for him to be kept away. The people here care about us or else they wouldn’t be offering so much.”

“Mark’s not gonna leave us alone.” Jeno said as he entered the room. “Or Haechan. The deal he made was that his family joins him here. So him not being around is not an option. We should leave.”

“But Haechan is sick.” Jisung reminded. “If we leave he’s gonna burden himself with looking after us again. We need to do what’s best for him, he needs to be taken care of too. I don’t want him working himself to the bone again. I want to stay, so does Chenle.”

“Yup.”

“Think about what you’re saying.” Jeno said. “Tomorrow we should talk as a group.”

♥♥♥♥♥

With Haechan on bed rest, the doctor had given them some tasks so they could check up on him themselves. Jaemin and Renjun were with Haechan, making sure everything was okay, and Jaemin figured it was a good time to talk.

“You know he’s been getting lots of sleep, I’m kinda jealous.”

“No ones stopping you from turning into a sloth.”

“Thanks.” It was quiet for a moment. “Hey, Ren, can I ask something?”

“Hm?”

“Where do you stand on the staying or leaving debate?”

“I’m not sure… you?”

“Same, but I can’t help but think this isn’t just about Haechan.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve all grown up, we’re all older now. Haechan can’t look after all of us forever. We should do what’s best for all of us, especially him.”

“And Mark?”

“This isn’t about him. Never has been, never will be. It might do him some good to hear Haechan’s hatred for once, also good for Hyuck to get it off his chest.”

“True, but we still have to talk to the others.”

“We will, just promise to make your own decision.”

“Sure, you better too.” 

♥♥♥♥♥

Haechan slowly regained consciousness. When he saw Jungwoo’s face he jumped up, once again trying to get out of bed. He was held back.

“Why is it that the first thing you try to do is get up and leave?”

Haechan stopped and looked over to see someone else in the room with him. It was just like before when he woke up with Johnny there, so this was starting to feel like deja vu.

“Who are you?”

“You can call me Ten. I’d like to have a chat.”

“This is deja vu… whatever you have to say, or offer, my answer will be the same. I want to leave.”

“I’m not here to play games, so I’ll be honest with you. Leaving is not an option you have.”

“So we’re hostages?”

“No, not at all, you’re just too important. Now that leaving is out of the question, perhaps you can see the great opportunity that’s been presented to you. I’d like to give you a proper tour of my home, no secrets. Of course you don’t have a choice. So, why don’t you go eat with your family and I’ll wait for you. He’s clear to do that, right Woo?”

“Yes. Vitals are much better.”

“Good. You should get going, I’m sure they’d be happy to see you. Oh, and how about we keep things between us, for now.”

“Whatever.”

When Haechan made his way to the kitchen, once he was spotted he was surrounded by warm hugs. Everyone was talking a mile a minute, asking if he felt better, that they’ve missed him, glad to see him on his feet, and asking him to join them for lunch among other things. After the initial excitement settled down it got a bit quiet. He knew why, there was a discussion they needed to have.

“So, how have you guys been?” Haechan asked. “I know I haven’t been around much.”

“We’ve been good.” Renjun assured. “Just worried about you is all.”

“Haechan….”

“Yes, Jisung? What is it?”

“Can we… should we stay here?”

“Jisung.” Jeno hissed. “We can talk about that later.”

“It’s okay. I know… I know this place would be good for you, for all of you. It’s just that I don’t trust these people. After this I’m gonna talk with one of them again and… see what happens.”

“Be careful.”

Around the time they all finished up Ten emerged from the dorm, asking Haechan to come with him. He assured the others he’d be alright. They wind up back at the penthouse, even more deja vu for Haechan, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“You’ve heard of our company before right?”

“NCT? Yeah, big corporation. I don’t think you’ve had a scandal, you’re like angels or some shit.”

“Our reputation precedes us then, that’s good.”

“If only the world knew how shitty you really were.”

“We’re not, we really are trying to make the world a better place. We’ve got our hands in every industry which helps us achieve that.”

“That doesn’t sound good. So how about we cut the bullshit and you tell me why my family is here and why you won’t let us leave despite telling us that was an option.”

“Straight to the point, I like. To put it simply, you and your boys are special.”

“Special how?”

“Everyone here has… abilities… and I believe you do too.”

Haechan laughed. “What kinda bullshit is that? Are you guys superheroes or something?”

“I wouldn’t use that title, we’re not public.”

“If that’s true then what’s your ability?”

“I can make people do whatever I want.”

“Oh really? Make me do something.”

“Okay. Why don’t you come over here and kiss me.”

“Really? You think a line like that would work?”

“...”

“What did you think was gonna-”

“Jaehyun!”

“What!”

Jaehyun came into the room, having been called over from whatever he was doing. He gave Haechan a smile but he seemed annoyed to have been interrupted.

“Strip.”

“For fucks sake-”

“Now.”

Jae glared at Ten as he started taking his clothes off. Ten watched intently, then glanced over at Haechan who was averting his eyes.

“That’s interesting…”

“You guys are into some weird shit.”

“You’re not affected by my powers… only one other person is immune.”

“Ten can I fucken stop?” Jae asked.

“Please do.” Haechan said. “I don’t wanna see your dick.”

“Ten!”

“Fine. Grab your clothes, and stay.”

“Ugh.”

“If this is supposed to prove something, it didn’t. How do I know you didn’t prepare this stunt?”

“You think I wanted to get naked?”

“Quiet, Jaehyun.” Ten sighed. “I see your point, you don’t believe me. How about Jaehyun? I said we all have powers here, and his is much more obvious. Jaehyun, be a dear and turn into Mark.”

Before Haechan could comment he saw Jaehyun suddenly change. It was quick but he could see enough morphing to know it wasn’t some trick. Suddenly Mark was half naked in the room. Haechan screamed and jumped to his feet, Mark just rolled his eyes and finished getting dressed. Satisfied with the reaction, Ten told Jaehyun to shift back to himself and the boy left.

“Is that believable?”

“Ha… how? How is that possible!”

“I’d answer, but it’s probably best we go down to the lab and talk to the guy who made this discovery, Hendery. I’m sure he’d be happy to spill all those sciency details.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy this is gonna be fun, like the idea that came to mind. I'll update tags as the story goes on, relationships, I kinda go poly on these things, but honestly don't care much for relationships. No one's really established and Mark and Haechan aren't exclusive, so ship whoever you want, just hope you stick around for the story cause I'm not even sure where it's going.


End file.
